Brand New Love Story
by KazeYami
Summary: Yaoi. Artemis gets himself a boyfriend, then gets himself kidnapped, then gets himself raped, then rescued, then confessed to, then smexed up. In that order. Warning: Mature Content. Adults Only. MM, BDSM, NonCon, Gore, Language.
1. His Name Is

**Chapter One:** His Name Is...

I hate the sun. If I possibly could, I would turn off the sun and have it be night at all hours of the day. Of course, that would be completely illogical. If there were such a way to "turn off" the sun, we would all turn into proverbial Popsicles and die off. Therefore, I will satisfy myself with saying that I quite simply hate the sun.

"Master Artemis!" I heard a voice call to me from across the school grounds. It was a deep and powerful voice that almost perfectly depicted it's holder. Across the lawn, right at the gated entrance, was my bodyguard, Domovoi Butler. He stood tall and, quite plainly, impatient in a tailored black suit and mirrored sunglasses of a similar hue beside the family's jet black Porsche. He looked quite sporting, standing there ever so intimidating.

Seeing that he had caught my eye, he gave a nondescript movement of his hand, signaling for me to come to him. He rarely gave me orders, but he had been doing so more and more lately. I supposed that it was a combination of a number of things, such as: my past personality change, our newfound companionship over my little escapades with the fairies, and my most recent boyfriend. Why, yes, you heard correctly. I, Artemis Fowl, am in a serious relationship and, most shockingly, with a person of the same sex. ... Gasp. I have yet to even so much as mention him to Butler, but I am almost positive he knows. As soon as I started to see him seriously, Butler began to question into whether or not I had been getting to all my classes (which I had not for that very reason). He confronted me about it and, much to my disgrace, I lied. I did not want him to know, though I do not think that I could explain it if I tried. The urge at the time and to this point, as well, is very much an illogical one, but I have been getting more used to them as the years have drug on.

Cursing the unmerciful sun as it beat down against my head once more, I began the long trek through the clumped groups of other students and awaiting chauffeurs to Butler. Although, before I could get there, I heard yet another person call out to me from across the green. I recognized it immediately, but had to train myself not to turn an about-face to confirm it. I did not have to fight long, as I felt a hand land on my upper arm after, but a few moments. Looking down, it was a hand I recognized. It was lightly tanned from many trips out onto the ocean and days wallowing in the French countryside's sun (still hate the sun, but, God, what it does to make him attractive). I could see the thin muscles that lined from the fingers to the wrist, trained to perfection on the piano and violin. There, on the ring finger, was a simple silver band with a small leaf-like design in the center that perfectly matched one that I wore on my own ring finger. Of course, not today! Today, I was going home for the summer break, and I could not let Butler become more suspicious than he was, so the ring rested safely in my pocket.

"Artemis? Didn't you hear me?" the owner of the hand asked, concernedly. I finally turned slightly and raised my head so that my gaze met his eternally passive one. He was such a polar opposite to myself, that I could barely believe that he was the one I choose to actually lower my veil of arrogance for. He was quiet, and soft-spoken, fair haired, and athletic. I was cold, and indifferent, dark haired, and pale as the moon, with no athletic ability at all (and I did regret it at times). The only way I could explain the two of us is the overdone saying of, "opposites attract". Other than that, there is no real explanation. I am also fairly sure that he knew something was wrong, the same as Butler, for that reason that I would sometimes become cold to him for various reasons. But, yet again, something beneath the surface stopped me from opening up to him, hiding silly useless things from him.

"I won't be seeing you for quite some time. I wanted to say goodbye," he said, slowly turning me towards him with the hand that had yet to leave my arm. From the corner of my eye, I could see Butler hurriedly making his way across the green towards us.

"I am sorry, I was lost in my own world for a moment," I said, brushing his hand briskly from my arm. Giving the steadily approaching Butler another nondescript glance, I decided to end the conversation as quickly and painlessly as I could. "I will miss you, too, but I will call you and the time will go by quickly," I said, somewhat emotionless, I must say. He opened his mouth to retort and say something kind and loving, I am sure, but there was no time for that! Butler was nearly there. "I really have to go now, before I get into trouble," I said, giving him a guilty glance (he deserved it) as I took off to intercept Butler before he could, quite literally, interrogate my adorable little boyfriend. As I took a last glance back, I saw that he was just standing there, staring after me with a sorrowful look in his cerulean blue eyes.

I was so distracted that, ashamedly, I ran right into Butler. I really was far off my usual self that day. "Artemis!" Butler scolded, giving me a little shake, then hurriedly pulling away, realizing he might have stepped over my frequently moving line. "What were you doing? Who was that boy that was talking to you? Was he trying to bully you? Hurt you?"

I'm sure he would have gone on for quite a while, but I had the foresight to jump in as he paused and took a breath. "Butler," I started off authoritatively. "That boy is a friend of mine, believe it or not. He was just saying goodbye to me for the time being. It is nothing for you to get worked up about," I finished, much less authoritative than the beginning. In fact, it sounded to my own ears, like an adolescents explanation to it's caretaker.

"A friend?" he repeated, speculatively.

"Yes, a friend. God forbid, if I should actually make a friend," I fired back, aggravated now. Since I had met my newest beau, I had actually made a few indirect friends through him. He seemed to know everyone, after all, and whenever I was with him I always felt very mellow and didn't have the urge to snap or be sarcastic. How strange that someone seemingly so regular could do that to me...

After a fired up little stomping to the car and a haughty slam of the door, I heard Butler enter the driver's side with a calculated calm. This fight, he was going to be the designated adult, I could see. I really hated when he acted like that, as I always felt that he was being condescending to me.

"I'm glad that you were able to make a friend, Artemis," he said, with an underlying exasperation.

"Please do not talk to me like that," I said, driving right to the point and trying to keep my cool as best I could.

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning and looking at me genuinely confused.

I sighed, now I was exasperated. Butler had obviously not noticed that he was talking to me with such an annoying tone. "Never mind, it does not matter," I replied, truly feeling tired. At this point, all I really wanted was to lie down in my own bed and take a nice relaxing nap. Either that, or maybe to take a nap with ... him. It was getting a little unnerving, how much I was coming to enjoy his company, but I just had to keep telling myself that it was a good thing. I had to try and become more sociable, or I would not be able to make it very far in the world.

"I think it matters," Butler said, after a long pause, startling me out of my reverie.

"How do you mean?" I asked reluctantly. I was truly tired and did not want to butt heads with such a good friend as Butler, no matter how much he disagreed with the idea of me dating. Or, perhaps it was me dating a male. Either way, I did not intend to give on this.

"Why are you cross right now, Artemis?" he asked, patiently.

I sighed once more. I was so tired. "There is no reason, I just want to be home. That is all."

"That can't be all. Is it because I questioned your friend?" he asked with that annoying patience of his.

"No, Butler. That is not it. Please let it go," I asked him, becoming cross again, I had to admit it.

"Was it because I shook you?" he asked. This time, I could hear worry in his voice, as if I would fire him for it or tell my father. As the teeny boppers like to say these days, 'as if'.

"No, Butler, and it was barely a shake at all!" I said, becoming more irritated with each word that left his mouth.

"Then... Is it because you weren't able to kiss your boyfriend goodbye?" he asked quietly, finally starting the car. Most of the other cars had left already and so there was no wait to get out onto the main street. As we pulled out, I kept my gaze fastened on an indistinct point in the distance and kept my face blank. "Artemis?"

"I heard you, Butler!" I cut him off, before he could go on. As it sunk in that I could not avoid this conversation, I began to feel more and more like I wanted to sink into the soil of the earth and just disappear for a short while.

"You don't have to talk to me about it, if it doesn't suit you. I only wish that you would let me in on what you are doing so that I can better analyze the situation and find better ways to protect you from those who might-"

"Would you please skip it, Butler!" I bit at him, cutting him off. "You do not like that I have a boyfriend and that is all it is, is it not?" I asked. Now that I was in the argument, there was no point in not going all out, correct?

"I didn't know that you, ahem, liked males, Artemis," he said, pointedly keeping his eyes on the road.

Ah, so it was that he was a male! Still, must keep calm...

"You are not the only one. I did not know either, until I met him."

"And, what is this boy's name?"

Now, I do not profess to know Butler better than anybody else. That would be presuming too much, but I have known him long enough to hear the threatening nature of such a simple and seemingly innocent question.

"I am not stupid, Butler. I like him, is that not enough? I am not a child anymore, I think I can judge a person adequately enough at this point, do you not?"

"..."

"Don't You?" I asked more forcefully, when he didn't reply.

"Yes, Artemis. Will I ever get to meet this boy?" he asked. I have to admit, I almost laughed at how parental the phrase sounded.

"Perhaps. It really depends," I said evasively. It would probably be a while before I would be secure enough with him to ask for something so embarrassing.

"I see. I suppose it's enough. Now can I know his name?" he asked, giving me a mischievous sideways glance. Though, I could see a vague sadness in the way he quirked his brow. For a moment, I was taken a back, but my mind soon gave me a million reasons why he might be sad in a situation like this and I brushed it off in a moment, not wanting it too to weigh on my heart.

"I suppose. His name is...Remy Altman."


	2. A Use For Cellphones

**Chapter Two:** Finally, A Use For Cell phones.

Two days. It has been two days. I have not seen him for two days and I am already prepared to tear my own hair out in worry. He had told me that he was going on a trip on his uncle's yacht around the coast of Italy as soon as he got out of school, but he should still have reception, a working pay phone at one of the docks, a bloody telegraph, something! But, no. Here I sit, a mess to all who see me, and for what? A normal and senseless little boy! It is useless to worry, I know that. But, it is so hard not too. He promised he would contact me as soon as he got onto the water, but I have yet to hear a thing.

"Artemis?" Butler shook me out of my inward rant. "Are you doing any better?"

Oh, yes. The air conditioning was broken. I had forgotten to say. You see, I was a mess and that was apparent to everyone. Thankfully, everyone thought that I was such a mess because of the ungodly hot within the mansion and I refused to go outside and try to find a breeze (I burn easier than an albino on the roof of the empire state building). Therefore, I was to be found sitting in the entrance hall on the floor with my shirt open and my shoes off in front off an ancient box fan. Just hold that image in your mind for a minute ... Alright, we may move on.

"A little better," I replied to Butler, looking up from my spot on the marble floor . "Have you fixed the central air, yet?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

He knew what I meant. I had insisted the moment it broke that we call a repair man, but for some unknown reason Butler insisted that he could fix it. As the children these days might say, 'Whatever'.

"Not yet. I just can't seem to find the center of the problem, though I know I must be getting closer. It's only a matter of time, now, Artemis. Just wait a little bit longer," he reassured me. Although, he must not have been doing a very good job, because I did not feel very reassured.

The whole time that he was speaking to me, his eyes kept bearing down on me. It made me quite uncomfortable, as you might guess. I knew that I must have looked quite different in such a disarranged state, but he had seen me in much stranger situations. Not to mention the fact that he himself insisted on walking about without any shirt on as well. I had already scolded him, but he had retorted that it was very hot working on the central air out in back of the house, when I hardly thought it was quite that hot. Butler was not the kind of man to walk about showing so much skin. He was very professional about the way he acted. That is why his behavior was so very strange today. Oh well, perhaps the heat was beginning to overheat his central cortex or some such thing.

"I ... suppose I'll get back to work, now," he said, somewhat insecurely. I could not blame him, I was purposely being cold and ignoring him, putting my face close to the fan to get as much air as I could. I refused to make eye contact and I was in no way interested in stroking his ego.

"Are you waiting for him to call?" Butler asked, seemingly from out of nowhere.

His question caught me off guard, since I had thought that he had left already. More than that, I could not really figure out what he was talking about for a moment. Then, it hit me. I had not had my cell phone outside of arm's reach since school left out. It must have been obvious to Butler, as I rarely used my cell phone, except to keep in touch with him. In that way, it must have been very strange. Now, to decide to answer him or continue to ignore him...

I did not get the chance to decide, as my cell phone began to sound out Beethoven's No. 9 Symphony. Suddenly, my hand, acting completely on its own, whipped out and snatched the cell phone up in a single breath. How that happened, I do not know.

"Hello?" I asked immediately. I could hear Butler shift his weight and felt his eyes pierce into my back. I really wished he would not act like that.

"Hey, Artemis! How's your summer going?" asked a familiar grating English accented voice. Although, not the voice I thought it would be.

"Fairly well..." I said, already feeling disappointed. This was not Remy calling, it was one of Remy's acquaintances that I had accidentally made friends with. This boy's name was Jack, and he was very outspoken, yet extremely intelligent for his appearance. I enjoyed having conversations with him and absolutely loved the fact that he had the strength of heart and mind to butt heads with me and not let it affect his image of me. That was very big of him. He acted much older than his age, quite pleasantly.

"Glad to hear it, glad to hear it! Doing anything interesting, or are you just sitting in front of the computer, flaming poor little Rocket Scientists?" he asked, laughing at his own joke.

"It is much to hot to do anything that has anything to do with flames..." I said, falling onto my back and enjoying the cold feel of the marble against my skin. As I did so, I heard Butler slowly walk towards me and sit down nearby. He was going to survey my conversation, quite obviously. Ha! He thought I was talking to Remy.

"Hm? You can't tell me the 'Everything-state-of-the-art-Artemis' doesn't have a basic window air conditioner?" he asked, with that underlying laugh in his voice again.

"It does seem that way, does it not? At the moment, the air is broken and it is oh-so-hot here, you know?" I said, fanning myself a little and putting on that classic playful voice. I got my satisfactory fidgeting from Butler, so I decided to keep it up.

"What's this? Playing a joke on someone, Artemis?" he asked. There we go, good Jack, you always were quick!

"Mmm... Maybe. Want to play too?" I asked, rubbing my feet together playfully. Unfortunately, I got a unsatisfied grunt from Butler, so I only thought it would be right to turn around and give him a glare that said, 'Go away'.

"Of course, of course. So, what are you doing to keep cool, Pretty Baby?" he asked, putting on his flirt voice as well.

"Well, I have stripped a considerable amount, because of the heat..." I said, faking thoughtfulness. This time I got Butler to bark out my name in reprimand.

"You know, you should really be telling this to Remy..." Jack said, falling out of character easily.

"Pfft!" I shot back, already pushed out of character as well. Sitting up, I forgot that Butler was there and said, "What kind of whore do you think I am? We are not like that at all."

"Artemis! Give me that!" Butler yelled, with surprising projection, and snatched the small phone out of my hand bringing it to his ear to hear "Remy's" reply and probably scream at him.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't go playing these games behind Remy's back. It would make him sad to see his immaculate Artemis behaving in such a way, you know?"

It was almost pure luck that I could hear Jack's reply. It was probably a combination of the fact that I was practically crawling on top of Butler to get the phone back, the echoing ability of the hall, and the volume of the phone, which I had turned up to full so that I absolutely would not miss Remy if he did call. ... Which he had not, yet.

"See? It is not Remy, I was just acting idiotic! Give it back to me," I demanded, stepping back and holding out my hand expectantly.

"Humph!" Butler harrumphed, and handed over the cell phone grudgingly.

"Sorry, Jack, I have to go now," I said, still ruffled from Butler's behavior about this whole thing. Very unprofessional.

"You in trouble?" he asked simply.

"Of course not! But, I will tell you later ... Maybe," I said and hung up before he could reply.

"Who was that, Artemis?" Butler asked, using that same tone he had used in the car the day before yesterday. That way he had of talking down to me when he was upset really and truly rubbed me the wrong way.

"Maybe when you are in your right mind again and your frontal lobe has re-congealed we can speak, but until then I would like to not hear from you," I spoke through my teeth, refusing to allow this to become a true-to-life argument. There was no argument to be had, after all. Butler was clearly out of his mind that day, so there was no point in trying to speak to him. No point that I saw, at least.

I stormed up the stairs and walked into my stifling hot bedroom and quickly regretted moving higher into the house. It was much hotter a level up, than it was on the ground floor. Still, I would much rather be roasting than orally duking it out with Butler down below. I hated fighting with him deeply as I considered him my closest friend, but his behavior that day made me question that and that scared me, quite frankly. He was acting so differently from his normal self, it threw me off.

"Damn this heat!" I spat under my breath. Finally giving in, I ripped off my shirt and flopped down in the middle of the floor. The carpet made my back itch, but the fact that it was covered in sweat helped to ease the irritation a little bit. I felt so nasty and dirty, covered in dried sweat that was then covered in wet sweat that would soon dry and then be covered by another layer of sweat. It was disgusting. I wanted to take a shower, but to take a nice cold shower I would have to get up and walk all the way across the room to the bathroom and take off my pants. What a bother. I would have to create a portable exportation machine one of these days. Still, a shower would have been nice and my back was beginning to get carpet imprints in it. Oh, but how I loathed to walk. Yet, I would not have to wear pants in the shower. Fuck it, the shower won.

Getting up with a groan, I began to make the long trek to the shower, shedding my pants on the way and throwing them in the general direction of the bed, leaving my silk boxers on, just in case I was walked in upon. Then, just as I reached the door to the bathroom and the thoughts of icy cold water on my back were reaching their peak, my cell phone (which had been laying on the floor somewhere), rang. Well, I was almost at the bathroom, but I was also still in mind-numbing worry over Remy. But, what if it was just Jack again? But, what if it was Remy? But, what about my god damned shower!

Meanwhile, the phone had finished off its first round of Beethoven's 9th and would soon be picked up by my voice mail. 'Fuck it,' I said to myself for the second time that day, letting go of the doorknob and running back to the middle of the room.

"Hello?" I asked, disgruntled. If it was Jack, I was going to murder him slowly and painfully. More realistically, he would get nothing, but glares through the first week of school. But, it would still be quite unpleasant for him!

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Remy asked.

'Praise the Lord!' I thought silently. I even fell to my knees clasping the cell phone in both hands and saying the Lord's Prayer quickly.

"Artemis? Hey, are you there? Um, did I catch you at church or something?" I could hear coming from the small speakers.

"No no, I am sorry! I was just glad that you called. What happened? You said that you would much call sooner than this..." I whined a little. I had faith that he was not distracted by some blond bimbo, but it still stung that he might not need me as much as I needed him.

"Well," he began, a strong marking of a long story. "Long story short;" See what I mean? I know him to well. "The phone on the boat was down, so I wasn't able to call you out on the water like I had been planning too. I had to wait until we docked at the next port town to call you. I'm really about that, but I did miss you. Did you miss me?" he asked playfully. He knew that I hated when he tried to play love games with me, but lately he had been getting me to play with him more and more often.

"Not even a little bit," I answered promptly. It was best to make him squirm first.

"No way! Not even a little tiny microscopic bit?" he asked.

"Truthfully?" I inquired back, giving in. This would make it end easier.

"Of course! How much did you miss me?"

"All of this waiting for you to call has made me stir crazy! I thought that you had been eaten by a carnivorous Killer Whale! You have to promise me you will not make me wait like that again. I am not very patient, you might remember?" I said, truthfully. He could always tell when I was telling him the truth, so this would hopefully bring him back from love-land.

Remy paused for a minute and I was afraid that I had been to truthful. I wondered if that was to clingy of a comment for him.

"I promise," he said quietly. "I'll definitely call you every time we come into port," he said determinedly. Oh dear, I believed (correctly) that I had stoked his ego a bit too much.

"Anyway," he said, trying to transition from his previously serious mood. "How has your summer been so far?" he asked cheerfully.

"Not very enjoyable," I said miserably.

"It can't be that bad without me, can it?" he asked, chuckling.

"It is not that, you idiot! The air conditioning is broken and you interrupted me just as I was going to take a shower!" I pouted to him.

"Is that why it took you so long to answer? You can go ahead and start, I'll hang up when you're ready to get in and call you back tonight!" he suggested happily.

"Sigh, that sounds like a good idea," I said, pushing myself up off the floor and dragging myself back to the bathroom door again.

"Other than the temperature, though ... ?" he asked suggestively.

"Oh yes, I meant to tell you I just got into a fight with Butler."

"That big scary guy?" he asked a little worriedly.

"Yes. He is usually very steadfast, but today he has been acting so strangely ... I have to admit, it has thrown me off quite a bit."

"That's to bad. I hope there's nothing wrong with him," he commented.

"Yes. Really, I think he is just angry about you and I. I told him about our relationship in the car after school left out,"

"Oh? How did he take it. Not too bad, I hope."

"No, not that bad at all. At least, he has not tracked you down and given you electro-shock therapy."

"Aha, real funny," Remy said, sarcastically.

"It would be if I was kidding. Still, it does not explain why he is acting the way he is today... Ah! That is quite nice and cold."

"Your shower's ready?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry. I will have to let you go."

"Alright, just answer me one question; How naked are you right now?"

"-beep!-" I hung up on him. There would be no more love games for him that day.

As I stepped into the shower, I had to slowly ease myself under the spray. It was a very refreshing cold, but a shocking one none the less. I was fully under the water when I heard someone open the door.

"Butler?" I asked, poking my head out from behind the shower curtain. Or, rather, I tried to ask, but never got the chance as my mouth was covered with a rankly smelling damp cloth. I saw a stern face and icy blue eyes and then everything began to spin and turn black. I do not remember what happened after that.


	3. Sore Throats & Nausea

**Chapter Three:** Sore Throats and Nausea

When I awoke, my head was spinning and I felt deathly sick. For a moment, I could not remember what had happened, but it soon came to me. I remembered that I was attacked in the shower by a man whom closely resembled Butler, but who had the eyes of a one without a heart. So, I was probably kidnapped by a cold blooded killer. Oh, dear. Probably not good.

As for why he kidnapped me, there could be a hundred reasons, quite literally. He could be holding me hostage and waiting for a ransom, he could be working for one of my father's rival syndicates, or perhaps some kind of vaguely justified terrorist. Either way, it did not really affect my situation that much. Whichever it was, I would be the one who would have to liberate myself from this obscure prison if someone else did not rescue me soon.

Truly obscure, as well. I could not see a thing. The place where I was being held was pitch black. This being so, there was no information to be gathered about my surroundings. At least, not for now. It was time to examine my own condition. Other than the mind-blowing nausea, I had quite a few other problems. For one, my whole body ached, so I was not handled very well while unconscious (I dreaded to see the bruises I had) and in the back of my head was a splitting pain that made me fear there may be some kind of meat clever wedged in there. Also, my hands were bound to a thin metal bar behind my back and my mouth was gagged, though not with a cloth. It was a strange kind of ball gag that was attached to a stiff piece of rectangular leather that was strapped over my mouth; not very attractive, no. Wherever I was, they did not want me to make noise.

The actual location was also very vague and hard to understand. I was definitely in some sort of factory surroundings. There was the creaking of metal rubbing against metal, and rusted beams straining under unknown pressure, chains clanking against hard metallic surfaces, and the dripping of rogue water droplets onto various surfaces. I myself was on a very rickety catwalk that was near to the ceiling, but not close enough that I might have been able climbed up into the rafters above. The catwalk itself only lead to a destroyed control panel and there was a single door that lead out. It was quite an ingenious place to put someone. Better than a cell. There was no option for escape, save the single door leading out of the huge warehouse/factory.

Vainly, I attempted to force escape. Once I was finished trying to break the ropes around my wrists (by thrashing about for a bit), a door far ahead of me opened revealing better to me where I was for the first time. It was some kind of large factory or power plant, then I was sure. The structure, on the whole, was a cylindrical shape and there was all kinds of rusting and out dated machinery hanging from the ceiling, walls, and towering up from the ground. There was a lot of things that I associated with nuclear power, which left me quite worried about radiation poisoning. The metal was obviously not of the best quality and if radioactive waste remained, it was definitely not properly shielded. Not very heartening, no.

"Good morning, Artemis Fowl. I do hope you found your nap restful," the silhouette spoke to me, laughing at his own ill conceived joke.

I did not find it important enough to sacrifice my pride and grunt at him through the gag.

"You are awake, aren't you? You were putting up quite a fight a few moments ago, though I don't think you'll get out of those ropes. The knot is somewhat complicated," he gloated some more, taking his time making it down the catwalk towards me. Oh well, he did tell me one useful tidbit; there was a camera with a night lens somewhere in these ruins.

"You know, you should probably try upgrading your security system. All I had to do to get in, was walk right through the front door."

'God damn it all ...' I thought to myself. It was only then that I remembered that I had left the front door open to try and catch a breeze while I was in the entrance hall. I supposed that, in my frustration and Butler's melted brain, we had left the front door open to invaders. Literally!

"You look frustrated," he said, leaning down and getting closer to my face. I could almost make out his features, though the light was still too weak. He looked so familiar. I was almost sure that I had seen him before...

"You wouldn't happen to need some help with that, would you?" he asked, reaching out with a large hand to rub it down my bare chest. Now, this only demonstrates how nauseated I was, that I did not even notice that I was still naked and vaguely damp.

"Mert amf hemm mf maf!" I grunted at him. Roughly translated, it meant 'Get the hell off me!" Even with my enraged grunting, the encroaching hand continued to travel the length of my body to the part of my body that only myself, my mother, and a few nannies ever touched. "Mermf!"

"Groaning already?" he asked, working his hand up and down and beginning to unzip his own pants.

I have to admit that, by this point I was absolutely terrified. If Butler had completely missed this man's entry and exit into my home, then that probably meant that it would be days before he found me. No one was coming to my rescue. I was going to be raped.

All the blood began to rush to my face and I could feel this strange heat pooling in my lower stomach. I was not an idiot. I knew what that meant, but hated to think that this disgusting man would be the first person to make me cum. In all my dreams, it was Remy or some other choice persons that were there at that moment, not some stranger.

"You're already dripping wet. I guess that's to be expected. You probably thought that you were above this sort of thing," he grunted out (what an asshole). Afterwards, he moved up and straddled my hips bringing his own large erection, which he had been stroking with his other hand, against mine and grinding against it hard. He was much larger than me, I could feel it easily.

At first the pace was slow and leisurely, but it soon picked up to a back breaking one and forced him into bracing his hands on the railing to either side of himself. With the extra leverage, he began a circular movement that slammed his balls against mine and sent a jolt of pain up my erection. By that point, I felt that I could no longer breath and periodically gagged on the ball in my mouth when it would obstruct my heavy breathing. It was getting to the point where I knew I either had to die or cum. No matter how disgusting, the latter sounded more appealing.

"Mmf!" I let out a pathetic little moan, as all my muscles tightened and white stuff spouted from the darkness to land all over my stomach and the mystery man's shirt.

"Well now, if you're not going to be civilized and wait for me to cum with you, you'll just have to tie up the loose ends you left yourself," he explained, getting up on his knees and beginning to undo my gag. Although, before he pulled it out of my mouth, he covered it with his hand and said to me threateningly, "You better learn some self control and keep quiet. If you don't, I'll be forced to slice off that agile little tongue of yours. At least, it better be agile, or it won't be in your mouth for very long."

And, with that, he slammed his length into my mouth and past my tonsils. After the initial shock, I swallowed and felt him shiver and tasted blood. As for his threat, I had no idea if he was telling the truth. I had no way of examining his face for a hint to tell if he was bluffing, but his voice told me that he was telling the truth. He sounded cold and half-insane,so I did not want to test him. I wanted to live to the end of the summer, so that I could go back to that useless school and see Remy's face again.

I tried to hold back the sobs as I made my decision, but they simply would not stop and I felt him shiver again at the vibration. The thought of him taking such enjoyment out of degrading me made me want to gag again, but I held it back. Swallowing once more, I tried swirling my tongue along the underside of his penis. All along from the base I could feel a throbbing vein that made him moan every time it was given attention, so I tried to focus my attack there. He started to get more intensely involved, putting his hands against the large transponder (the large machine I was lashed too) and gasping and panting shamelessly.

It was hard to concentrate. His pubic hairs were against my face and when I breathed, I could smell the must of his sex fully. That is, when I could breath. His foreskin was pressed against the back of my throat, obstructing my oxygen intake and torturing the sensitive skin there, rubbing it to bleeding with his unconscious rocking. Still, the most humiliating and uncomfortable thing of it all were the tears streaming down my face and the fact that he must have had a perfect view of them and the path they made all the way to my jaw bone.

"Fuck, you're good," he said, rocking more violently in my mouth. In a few moments, he was fully thrusting in and out of my mouth, causing blood to flow down my throat and the sobs to become more violent. His thrusting was rubbing my tonsils and the back of my throat completely raw. It hurt to breath and hurt twice as much to sob. The sharp inhalation felt like swallowing so many thumbtacks. At the point when I thought that I simply could not take it anymore, I felt him cum. His sperm shot straight back into my throat, hitting the huge sore spot there and causing me to gasp and feel even more pain. He thrust a few more times, holding onto the back of my head with fingers entwined in my hair before he finally stopped and pulled his limp member away.

The moment my mouth was free, I began to wail. I had completely forgotten his threats of a moment ago about making noise, or maybe I just did not care anymore. My whole body felt achy and violated. I was covered in cum, my own on my stomach and the stranger's on my chin (I had presence enough to spit as much out as I could), there was blood in my mouth, and the crying refused to stop.

"Shut your mouth!" he screamed, slapping me across the face. I never thought that slaps could hurt too badly, but this one did very much. My head snapped to the side and I could feel a terrible hot pain spread across my cheek. But, it had the wanted affect. The sobbing stopped abruptly, though the tears were now falling like huge clear pearls onto the grating of the catwalk beneath me. I could not think, I could not move, I did not even know if I was still alive, though I thought I must have been at some point.

"Do you think you can behave yourself?" he asked, cleaning himself off.

I could not reply, but I managed a half-hearted sob.

"Good boy," he laughed, leaning down to within a few inches of my face and cocking his head to the side to kiss me. As he did so, his face finally fell into a beam of light that illuminated his features. It was the last thing that I could take. He had Butler's face. I looked straight into the face of a Butler with heartless eyes as he slipped his tongue into my mouth and invaded my dignity just once more.

His face gloated to me a silent glory. Then, he stood and he left. All I did was cry in an in human voice until the darkness came to take me away to a world of nightmares filled with violating hands.

Night was falling on the Fowl estate when Butler finally ventured back into the household, giving in to the fact that he did not have the skills nor the patience to fix the God forsaken central air-conditioning system. He had dreaded facing Artemis all day, but he had also given in to the fact that the only thing he was interested in was making up with Artemis and, perhaps, pulling a smile out of his permanently sour face.

Climbing the stairs, he noticed something unusual. There, on the crimson red carpet, were large wet marks, like a huge dead fish had been dragged through the hall and right down to the front door. Fuck, the front door.

Realizing what might have happened, Butler took off at a run for Artemis' room. It was the most disgraceful thing in the world that he had forgotten something so simple as the security of the front door. But, with the front door open, the whole security system was to assume that all who entered were welcome. And this left the estate open to any trespassers who wised to come by.

As he approached his ward's bedroom, he saw that Artemis' door was left open and that the wet trail led through there. Rushing into the room and following the trail to the bathroom, Butler found the room in disarray with water everywhere and bottles left on the floor. Then, there in the bathtub, he saw it. There was a large bloodstain in the bottom and on the faucet with small black hairs mixed within.

"Artemis!" Butler yelled. But, it was no use. He was no where to be found.


	4. Falling Apart At the Seams

**Chapter Four:** Falling Apart At the Seams

I never hurt anyone. Not really, anyway. I certainly never went about searching for people to injure. I usually listen to -. Never mind, I never listen to people, but I also do not go around picking arguments. I will only argue if I am absolutely sure I am right, which I usually am.

All this makes me wonder: How did this happen? Being the fairly upstanding Irishman that I am, how did it come that I would be so deeply violated by a man who held the face of a trusted friend? What kind of cruel and ironic God would bring this kind of punishment down upon my head? More importantly, just why? Not, 'Why did he kidnap me?' not, 'Why did he molest me so?' just, 'Why me?' That is all I wanted to know...

It had been a few days and I, the prestigious Artemis Fowl, boy genius and self-proclaimed expert on fairies, was sitting uncomfortably, quite obviously naked and cold, on the rusted grated metal that had long ago began to rub away at the skin of my ass and thighs. How did I fall this low? Where was Butler? Was he looking for me? What about that man? When would he come back again? What would he do to me when he did come back? What would I do? What could I do? My mind ran in untraceable circles. Meaningless circles that traced and retraced steps already taken. I do not know how many hours I spent like that. I do not know how long I worried and fretted about that man. I do not know if I can describe the feeling of disgust that covered my entire body. I just know that, for a small moment in time, I felt vulnerable, terrified, and helpless and I never want to feel that way again. It was then, that I really began to loose it. However, I knew deep inside would truly loose after making a few more circuits through those questions again.

So, I completely blame my own questionable state of mind on the fact that I did not notice my captor standing over me until he spoke. I truly did not care enough to watch for his approach any longer.

"All rested up?" he asked me, still wearing his grin of victory. He had full power of me, he was sure of that and I believed it to an extent, as well.

"Why that face?" I asked, wanting to know. It had been what hurt the most, more than anything. When all was said and done, I had to look into Butler's face after all that.

"Well, that's quite a tale in and of itself, isn't it?" he asked, leaning down and leering at me. He was going to hurt me again. I could tell.

I shook as quietly as I could, but he still caught it. His grin widened and I had to drop my gaze. I could not stand it, that face. Why in the world would he have that face?

"Why?" I asked again.

"Well, how about this, little boy, if you do something for me, I'll tell you why I have your bodyguard's face," he replied, reaching down, grabbing my chin, and forcing it upwards so that I was looking directly into his eyes. My trembling was fully visible by now.

"What? What do you want from me that you have not already taken!" I spat, angry now. He had taken such a dear part of me, what else could he possibly want? Would I even be able to give it without breaking?

"How about one of the most valuable things a young person like yourself has to give?" he asked, putting it off further, but lowering his face ever closer to mine.

"Damn you!" I quite literally spat, forcing him into pulling back fiercely and slapping me hard on the face while he desperately tried to wipe the spit off his face. By that point, I did not really care, but it did calm me down like I supposed he wanted. "What do you want, you bastard?" I asked, still glaring and feeling/tasting the blood pooling in my mouth and running down my chin as I said it.

"Your virginity, of course! You're a boy genius, aren't you? Thought you would have figured that one out by now..." he said, looking down his nose at me and sneering.

At first I wondered why he would have assumed that I was a virgin. I tried to make myself seem as grown up as I could. I did not like to think it was so transparent. But, that was not the most important thing that crossed my mind, the most important thing was why. Why ask for it when we both knew he would just take it anyway? Either way, I intended to defy him, especially on this.

"Not a chance in hell, you disgusting pig," I said slowly, emphasizing every word. At least that way, I could keep my dignity. He would not take that, if I could help it.

"Hm... No chance, huh?" he said, in mock speculation. "Then how about this," he hissed, hunching down and grabbing my face again, making the spot where he hit me throb steadily under his hand. "You'll give me your virginity and I won't cut off your fingers. How about that?" he asked, breathing on my face. His breath was absolutely rancid.

"And, my other options?" I asked, staying calm.

"What other options?" he asked innocently, swiftly pulling a colt .35 from beneath his jacket and putting it to my temple. A pretty direct explanation, if I do say so myself. "And the Princess' reply?" he asked in his sing song voice, letting go of my face, but leaving the gun where it was.

I simply bowed my head. He would understand I gave up. I cherished my virginity and the small remainder of my pride that was left with it, but those were not more important than my life at the moment. If I could just survive, I might be able to see their faces again. All those people who made me who I am.

"Good boy," he said, pulling me from my thoughts and removing the gun from my head. "Have a nice nap, then," he finished pleasantly, smiling falsely, and swiftly pulling a syringe from an inside pocket and shooting me full of sedatives.

-Somewhere Off the French Coast Line-

Remy Altman sat stiffly on the deck of the snipper ship Excalibur. He had been waiting all day for his boyfriend to call him, but there was no call. There were no text messages and there were no voice mails. This alone would not have rattled him, if it was not for the strange dream he had the night before. In this dream he had stood stock still and watched as Artemis was raped. He could hear himself screaming, thrashing, clawing at his stationery form, but there was no reaction from himself or his lover. Artemis did not make any noise and he did not beg. He simply cried quietly as that huge man violated every part of him. The look he gave him afterwards, when the man was finished and bloodstained sheets and a broken Artemis were all that remained, made him feel like breaking himself.

What was happening? Where was Artemis? That man, why had he looked familiar? Where had he seen him before? He was sure he had seen the rapist just a short while ago, but where...

Then it came to him as he stood there, right there against the port railing. The man that had picked up Artemis that day. The one Artemis had hidden him from. He was the man who had raped Artemis and covered him in blood and tears. God...

"Uncle!" Remy cried, leaping from his place on the deck and dashing towards the bridge. "Stop the boat! Dock somewhere, anywhere! It doesn't matter, but I have to get off!"

-Location Unknown-

I remembered that it smelled like detergent. No, perhaps it smelled like sweat, and blood, and semen. Or, maybe a mix? I was not sure what it smelled like. It did not really matter, as long as I was concentrating on something other than the length pumping inside me, threatening to tear me apart. Like a jabbing knife. Like a thrusting javelin. Like anything painful or unpleasant that you have felt in your life. Just pain and a violence that fills you to brimming and leaves not, but empty space.

I laid there, completely prone, absolutely exposed on starched white sheets. My ankles were high in the air, dangling over his shoulders. He grunted as he shoved in and out, his hands gripping my thighs so as to leave a horrible red mark. My wrists were suspended above my head, to one of the headboard's bars with wire. There was a deep blood stain there on the top of the pillow from all the movement I was doing. Blood was also running down my back from where we met. He had the kindness to wear a condom, but had not cared enough to use anything that would smooth his entry. Therefore, I was thoroughly torn from within. Blood also ran from my chest, where he had bitten my nipples, hard. Of course, there was the dried blood, as well, on my face from where he hit me many times.

"Umph," he grunted down at me. "You're so tight. Delicious."

I did not reply. I stared determinedly at the stain on the wall that looked terribly close to feces. I was not making any facial expressions. I knew that, because I knew I would have felt the dried blood crack if I had. I also had not been making any noise, though I might have been screaming under the deafening roar of our bodies moving the rusted bedsprings. I might as well have been a mannequin or a blow-up doll, if it was not for the tears running down my face.

"Ah! Damn!" he exclaimed, cumming inside me and making me jolt and grimace (the blood cracked and my grunt practically echoed). I did not know if I could take it. I did not know if I had. Had I made it through, or was there more? I did not remember all that I was supposed to do, just that he was going to hurt me. That was all I knew for sure.

"Sigh. Seriously, delicious..." the man trailed off as he pulled out and wiped himself off, smiling to himself as he did so. "You don't look happy, though. Did you not enjoy yourself, Princess?" he asked, laughing as he plopped down next to me and stared into my eyes in a mockery of after-glow.

I tried to hold back the quiver in my voice, but in the end I could not even form a sentence. Just, "No... I hate... no..."

"I see. Well, it's my turn to return my part of the bargain right? You still want to know, right?" he questioned, mocking me again.

I could not tell you what his expression was, though. I had hid my face in my shoulder, refusing to look at that face. But at his question I moved my head in an affirmative nod, hoping he would not ask for more than that.

"All right, then," he said, leaning down to nip at my ear before whispering into it, "I used to work with him a good twenty years ago. It's because of him that my wife is dead. Now, it's my turn to torture his lover. But, that doesn't really explain my face, huh?" he said, pulling away.

He sat back and I pulled my head out from behind my shoulder. Was he going to explain his face or not? If he did not, then I really might break. That, or kill myself. After a moment, he reached up to his neck and pulled at the skin there. God. He pulled away his face in a huge layer to reveal a very different face beneath.

"Much better, don't you think?" he asked, laughing as he discarded the mask into the corner. I could not help it, I started to sob. I could not take it. I really could not. It was then that I realized he had finally broken me.


	5. Living Dead Boy

**Chapter Five:** Living Dead Boy

The Irish police circled around the perimeter of the Astoria Nuclear Power plant, a long abandoned facility. It was only a good 20 miles from the Fowl estate, so it was fairly remote, with the little proximity to nearby towns. Men in uniforms, with guns drawn and at the ready, cautiously circled around from checkpoint to checkpoint, marking each area as clear as they slowly worked their way towards the center of the plant.

Their objective was simple; Locate and protect the victim, Artemis Fowl, and detain his abductor, a man by the name of Corwin Mornsworth. An Englishman, Mornsworth joined the British Air force, then MI5 and was dishonorably discharged. Most of his information was blacked out, but there was enough there to know he was man to be dealt with carefully.

A good fifty to sixty armed men slowly trickled into the three different entrances of the facility, using the same tactics they had outside, meticulously scouring the plant for any signs of inhabitants. They found many indications, such as a cot and portable stove in one room and a suitcase full of nondescript dark clothing and basic living needs. There was definitely someone there, he just needed to find out who...

-Deeper within the plant-

"Seems our little play date is over," the impostor said, pulling up his pants and checking his hand held computer once more to see how far the police had infiltrated. Sometime after gloating to me, his cell phone (or, so I thought it was) went off, immediately throwing him into action. The bumbling idiots calling themselves police had tripped a dozen or more silent alerts while entering the plant and had given their prey ample time to escape. Yet, their prey still stood there, staring at me so penetratingly. It was like I was nothing but a window that lead to nothing and he was simply admiring his handiwork in creating the great crack right through my center.

"Very sorry," he whispered, smiling to himself, extremely pleased as I trembled. He leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me how beautiful he thought I was. I looked down at myself. I was covered in blood. Not just between my legs, where it was dried and cracked, all smeared across my thighs. There were long trails of blood on my arms where the wire, still wrapped around my wrists, had broken and dug into the skin and on my sides where he had dug his nails in mercilessly. My face had long trails of blood making lines from my mouth and hairline (he had, at one point, grabbed my head and smashed it into the headboard). I did not feel beautiful. I felt like I looked like my heart, all broken and smashed and dirty.

Running his hands through my greasy unwashed hair and getting his fingers stuck where the blood had matted, he said his last farewell and left. Just like that. It could not just be done, could it? He could not just leave like nothing had happened and leave me here, could he? Was it over? It did not feel like it. It felt like I was still under his thumb. It felt like he was still violating everything everywhere all the time. It felt like nothing would be right again. Where was Butler? Where was Remy? I wanted to go home.

-Outside the Guard Quarters-

The leader of the four man group that had ventured into the guard and security portion of the facility waved his group forward. This was one of the last places they had to look and one of the most likely places they would find the boy or his captor.

With grim determination he approached the first door, noting that it was already partially open ant that there was soft sobbing coming from within. So, he had located the boy. Question was, would Mornsworth be inside as well? Or, rather, how bad of shape would the boy be in? He had been missing for three days. Most people would be dead by now.

With a small nod to the others in his group, they burst into the room, startling the small figure crouched on the filthy cot. He was the only one there. Somewhat taken aback, the commanding officer, slowly lowered his weapon, examining the poor child before him. It was fairly obvious what had happened to him, if not from the blood on his legs and the sheets of the cot, then from his skittish and terrified demeanor and his large haunted sky blue eyes.

Holstering his weapon, the man approached the boy with a caution, not wanting to spook him any further. There was really no need to scare him any more than he already was. Slowly, he reached out his hand, paused as Artemis flinched away and hid his face, then moved again to cup his face and slowly bring it up to wipe the blood from his face with a handkerchief. When Artemis' face had relaxed and his silent tears slowed a little, the commander turned and ordered his subordinates to contact the other teams and to get a medical team up to the guard room immediately. That, and to find something to cut the wire from Artemis' wrists. The bleeding had yet to stop and he could see that some of the wire had buried itself deep beneath the skin. He desperately hoped that the wound would not get infected, otherwise the boy might loose both hands.

-Local Hospital, Waiting Room-

Remy Altman sat in the uncomfortable chair provided to him by the hospital and tried his best to remedy his uncomfortable feelings. Shortly after realizing what might have happened to Artemis, he had called the Irish police and informed them about his concerns for his classmate. They had, in turn, started an investigation into the location and condition of Artemis Fowl. Within 24 hours, they knew that he had been missing, quite literally vanishing into thin air, or, rather, through the front door. They had learned this from Miss Julia Butler. She had cooperated fully, being very worried about her smart little friend. However, they could not locate Domovoi Butler. It seemed that he had procured a pass into the United States to see an old military friend. That had worried them, but once they had spoken with some locals, they also heard about the strange going-ons with a man also calling himself Domovoi Butler, who had been traveling back and forth between the town just beside Fowl Manor and the Astoria Power plant. From there, they had infiltrated and retrieved Artemis. He was in pretty bad shape when they found him, but no more than that would be said.

Remy had learned all this from a kind officer, the commander of the squad that had located Artemis. He was not allowed to see him, since he was not a family member, but Artemis' parents were with him in the Intensive Care Unit. He knew that Artemis had to undergo some kind of minor operation to his hands, though he really had no idea what kind of operation it was and it scared the hell out of him. What could that man have done to his hands? If that bastard really hurt Artemis, he would kill him! He meant it, if Artemis could not type or write or draw or do any of those other things he liked to do so often that required his hands, he would kill him. He would cut off his hands and give his incomplete lover justification, even if the law did not.

A woman came into the waiting room crying quietly, being guided along by man who looked extraordinarily like Artemis, only much older and with a much more expressive face. He hobbled along beside his wife on a prosthetic leg, trying to help her into the room but really being helped himself.

Remy closed in on the couple quickly. "How is he?" Remy tried to ask quietly, but the emotion and anxiousness in his voice still communicated easily.

"Oh..." the woman moaned, hiding her face in Artemis senior's chest. Her husband kindly patted her head, looking at her sympathetically.

"Don't worry," Artemis father said, not looking up at the blond. "He'll be fine. He's just ... in shock," the older man finished vaguely.

Remy did not question further and allowed the couple to pass him by and sit down in a pair of seats on the other side of the room. He did not know what to do. He still could not see Artemis, due to hospital protocol, but he also did not want to sit there, not really knowing anything about his boyfriend's condition. Remy could not just stand there. He had to do something!

Setting his face in a grim expression of determination, Remy Altman advanced fearlessly towards the ICU

-ICU Ward, Room 204, Artemis Fowl-

I do not know if I had ever experienced anything quite like what I experienced in the hospital ward of Astoria's ICU It was quite a unique, the feeling of surrealism and pain. There was an intense pain in my hands, backside, and head in general. The doctors had me on a morphine drip, but it had yet to take effect. Perhaps because I had removed the drip as soon as their backs were turned. I am not completely sure.

I remembered my parents visiting. My mother was crying. She had bust into tears as soon as she saw my condition, though she looked as if she was on the verge of such when she first entered. My father was much more composed, though his face betrayed the pain and betrayal he felt towards everything and everyone. He had not reacted much, with the exception of the deepening furrows between his brows and his overly gentle touch.

I did not speak to them. To be fair, I had not spoke a word since my rapist and torturer had left me. I felt somewhat cheated, that our meeting and all my pain would have such an anti-climatic ending, if that was the ending at all. I do not know what the doctor told them about my mental condition. I did not really care. I already knew that I was fairly insane. I had lost all logic and that was that.

After Mother and Father had left, I was preparing myself for a nice nap (or, at least, an attempt at a nap) when someone else entered the room. I can not describe to you how irritating that was. I just wanted to get some peace and quiet and these darned whippersnappers had to come and disrupt it with their prodding stethoscopes and mind-numbing drugs. I was just about to chuck a water filled glass at the figure when I finally identified the blond hair and soft concerned expression.

"Remy?" I croaked out. I was fully expecting my hallucination to laugh openly in my face and morph into my previous captor or some equally distasteful image, but was startled to find something else. The image ran towards me and threw it's head down on my chest, sobbing. In fact, it was not an image at all. I could feel the weight and warmth of his head and could feel the strength of his sobs as he clutched at the blankets on my chest and struggled to bury deeper into my being.

"Artemis, I'm so sorry," my non-hallucinated boyfriend cried, his apology muffled against my sternum. Reaching up, I threaded my fingers through Remy's hair with the hand the I. V. was injected into. Oh dear. I had no idea what to do. I had not expected this. Even so, it was a very nice surprise that I welcomed. This was the boy that I kept wishing was near me and now he was. He was also extremely saddened by my ordeal, apparently. This saddened me, in turn, and I found that quite distasteful.

"Why are you apologizing?" I whispered, not wanting to startle the poor little thing under my hand.

"Because!" he exclaimed, jumping up suddenly and startling me. Sadly, I was still in defensive mode. I did not really think he would hit me, but my body did. Fortunately, the flinch was lost on his overly emotional state. "I wasn't there! I wasn't there to protect you, or help you, or try to comfort you when you were in pain! Maybe this never should have happened, maybe it was nobody's fault, but that doesn't really matter. It's just that I couldn't do anything! How useful am I? I'm completely useless," Remy finished, laying his head back on my chest.

For a long moment, I simply digested what he said. It was true, I wanted and expected him or Butler to come and save me the entire time. However, none of them arrived and I was left to my own abilities. Still, I could not expect that of them. At least Remy was here. As far as I knew, Butler was nowhere to be seen.

"It is not your fault," I said, sighing a bit, as I pulled Remy's face up with one hand. "I really wanted you there, but since you are here now, I will forgive you..." I said, feeling very tired, but still guiding Remy's face closer to mine. I really felt so very disgusting and tired at that moment, but more than anything else I felt love for him. Remy, the one who came to me and apologized. The only one who promised me that this should have never happened.

Taking initiative and gaining control of his emotions for the first time that day, Remy finally leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. It was forceful, somewhat more so than I was used to than him, but it was a tender and chaste kiss that I readily responded to. It truly felt as if it had been fifty to a hundred years since I last felt a kind touch or a tender kiss. In that way, Remy's soft kisses were quite welcome.

Bracing his hand on one side of the bed and the other on my shoulder, he began to nibble and suck on my lips causing me to blush. It really felt very nice. Soon he was running the tip of his tongue along the seam of my lips, silently asking for entrance. I did not grant it immediately, I made him wait patiently, teasing him by kissing his tongue while not opening my mouth (an amazing talent, I know). Although, after no more than a few moments of oral begging, I opened my mouth slightly and extended my own tongue and eagerly allowed it to play with his. It is quite an exquisite feeling, I must say. The wrapping and wrestling to try and touch and sense as much of that person as you possibly can. There was no fighting for dominance, as we both were just far too happy to be with one another to play such a game.

For a moment, Remy broke the kiss and stared deeply into my eyes, forcing me to do the same. His eyes were almost an equal color to my own, a bright and brilliant blue, though I was aware that his held more color and vibrancy than mine ever did. He gave me a horribly pathetic and scared look and I just had to ask him what was wrong. Though, I denied him the honor of asking with a sentence. He could have a sentence fragment.

"What?" I sighed, returning him a look of doubt.

"We won't ever have to be apart again, will we?" he asked, his look becoming even more pathetic, if that was at all possible.

"You know I can not promise such a thing," I returned, a little agitated.

"I know," he said, lowering his head onto my chest again, though not breaking eye contact. "But, just do it anyway, okay?"

"..."

I remained silent, searching deep into his eyes. What I saw were eyes that were slightly different ones from those I had seen on the last days of school. These eyes were more hardened against the world, more aware of how very cruel the world was. This destroyed me. This ordeal had stolen away some of his naivety and innocence. I wished more than ever that I could take it all back.

"I promise. We will not have to be apart ever again." And, although I did not wish it or want it in anyway, a tear rolled down my face and I did not wipe it away.


	6. Head On Collision

**Chapter Six:** Head-On Collision

The summer sun was especially bright, shining its excellence onto everything green and growing. A light breeze stirred the leaves on the trees and hedges. Even the grass took on a gentle swaying motion, as if leaning back and forth to the beat of an infectious song.

I, however, sat feeling detached by the window of my second floor room, trying my best to look catatonic as Remy prattled away about some trivial nothing somewhere near my thigh. Sadly, the boy had not shut up since I had gotten out of the hospital. I suppose, because the nurses had mostly forced him to shut up in the trauma ward and he was trying to make up lost time. All together now, 'collective sigh'.

"Artemis, Artemis, Artemis?" Remy asked over and over, big blue eyes glued to my face, wider than any 15 year olds should be. Apparently, he had asked me a question. Oh my.

"Yes?" I replied, without looking at him.

"Don't you think so? Don't you think Jack went too far with that one? It was really mean..." he whined, obviously angry that he had to repeat the vaguest points of his story.

"Sigh, what did Jack do?" I asked. Since Jack was involved it must have been at least a little interesting. Jack was always ever so creative when it came to his practical jokes.

"Humph!" Remy grunted, pouting in an extremely adorable fashion. Not that it would coax any kind of reaction from me, though. I was immune by this point. "Jack has been posting pictures of me and my cell phone!" he whined again. Also, again vague.

"Well, it is an attractive cell phone," I answered him, still not looking at him and still retaining that exasperated tone of voice that I know he hates.

"I mean..." here he blushed and stammered adorably, and I had to turn to look at him, "he edited pictures of me doing things with my cell phone while the setting was on vibrate..." he insinuated, looking away as I finally looked to him.

"AHAHahahahahaaaa..." I practically screamed. That sounded just like something Jack would do with his free time and just immature enough that it made me crack up. However, even I had to admit that it ended as a somewhat nervous laughter. It was just so loud and cracking in the empty air left by Remy's stunned silence.

I do give it to him, though. He recovered quick.

"It is not funny!" he yelled, indignant, as he jumped to his feet to beg his frustrations to my uncaring ears. "Now everyone thinks I'm some kind of nasty pervert!"

"Are you not?" I asked, smiling up at him seductively. Unlike most other people that touched me, I enjoyed Remy's touch. It felt cleansing and forgiving and as kind as it had always been.

"That sounds like a pretty naughty question..." he said, smiling back in the same manner. Finally, finally he had learned lust from sarcasm! Praise the Lord!

"ARTEMIS!" I heard Juliet yell, just as Remy began to lean his face towards my own. Fucking God-damned whippersnappers.

Thankfully, just as I was about to rush from my place on the ledge of the large open picture window to find something very heavy to hit Juliet over the head with, a refreshing breeze came through the huge picture window, stirring my hair into my face and chilling me just enough to elicit an adorable little sneeze. Thus, the mood was ruined.

"Gesundheit," Remy said, already pulled back and seated beside me on the cushioned ledge.

"Artemis!" Juliet yelled once more. "Butler's back! Hurry!" came her ecstatic cry and all remnants of my irritation were swept away by the black anger that I had been nursing for the past few days, since I learned of where exactly Butler was. America. He had traveled all the way to America on some wild goose chase while I was mercilessly tortured by that pathetic mockery of a human being.

Many times he had attempted to contact me through the hospital, house, and cell phone. However, I refused to answer any phone until someone else picked it up and told me who it was. I refused to have this conversation over the phone. The phone did not have near the same impact as face to face chewing out. I wanted to make sure this was as bad of a chewing out as Butler would ever get at my hands.

"Don't you want to go down and see him? I can help you down the steps?" Remy offered, sounding and looking concerned as he pushed himself up onto his feet and offered his hand to me. I made no move to accept.

"No," I said after a moment. "He can come to me," I explained quietly, the venom already plain in my voice.

"...Okay," Remy complied, yet remaining standing. "Should I go, then?" he asked, a little awkwardly, scratching the back of his head and looking around the room so that he would not have to look at my cold expression, I supposed.

"I am sorry. Would that be too much trouble?" I asked, allowing my expression to soften slightly, as I looked up at him and nodded my head towards a door to my left.

"No, no trouble," he answered, leaning down to stroke my cheek just once, before he turned and left.

Alone I did sit, for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably much closer to five or ten minutes. It seemed that the reaper of time had wedged his sickle into the very working of the grandfather clock positioned directly across the room from me, preventing the minute hand from moving any faster than the hour hand. Oh, how the mind likes to trick itself into much more romantic and tragic ideas... Sigh.

After that uninterruptible time had passed, I watched a reluctant and pale Butler enter my room, bowing his head slightly and approaching without a word, but with downcast eyes.

"Butler..." I said, quietly, but dripping with the icy venom of the hurt he had caused me. "I do not suppose you have an explanation?" I asked, simply, going straight towards what we both knew had caused the tension that permeated the room.

"Master Artemis... I..." Butler stumbled for words. It was the first time I had seen/heard him do such a thing. His face betrayed the turmoil within him and the pain that writhed just beneath the surface. However, I felt no sympathy for him. How many times had Cromsworth wrung that very expression from myself?

"What is your explanation..." I began once again, striding forward and thrusting my now un bandaged and mutilated wrists beneath his gaze, watching his face intently as he flinched back, his face a mask of horror untamed, "for this?"

For a long moment, I watched Butler struggle, trying to look away and unable to. Finally, ripping his eyes with noticeable difficulty from the deep and straight stitched lines around my wrists he began his explanation. "I'm so sorry, Artemis! I got a tip! A reliable tip! I was told that he had smuggled you into the United States!" Butler blurted out, trying his best not to flinch away from the scarred hands that were still held precariously close to him.

I let my hands drop, disgusted. "And that is why I was left for days with that man? That was why you were not there to even attempt to look for me when I was not even twenty miles away? That is why I had to depend on Remy to save me!" I yelled, infuriated by my bodyguard's supposed incompetence. The intelligent part of my mind was telling me that my kidnapper had probably set false leads all over the place, but that just was not relevant. That just did not matter right now.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry. I am your bodyguard and I have failed you. There's no excuse," he whispered, only barely audible.

"No, there is not," I panted, tired now from getting myself so worked up to face such a pathetic opponent. He did not even attempt to defend himself. He did not argue with me in the slightest. He just stood there looking more pathetic than myself. And, I was the aforementioned victim.

Brushing past him, I was fully intending to leave him behind to brood. Eventually I would forgive him. Even in my rage clouded mind, I knew that. He was such a standard in my life, I probably would not be able to be mad with him for more than a week, though the tension would remain for many months before my trust would be his once more.

"Artemis?" I heard him whisper, before a huge hand clamped down on my upper arm and yanked me back. "I'm so sorry. Please understand," I heard Butler whisper, as he caught me in a rib-breaking hug. Immediately, all of the horrors and fears of just a few days ago came rushing back with full force. I was trapped. He had me. Don't hurt, don't hurt me, please, no, don't, I don't want, please! No, no, no, no,no!

With a reserve of strength I did not know I had, I slammed my hands against Butler's chest, pushing myself out of the suffocating embrace to stare at the bigger man with large haunted eyes. He was no longer just Butler, he was a giant of a man that could subdue me with a single finger. That terrified me. I was always aware of this, but never in such a way. It left me ashamed, but far more terrified.

"Artemis," he said, this time in a bewildered and hurt fashion. That did not really register, though. All that I was really thinking of was how to escape this situation with the minimal amount of foolishness, as there was a small piece of my brain that realized that Butler had meant no harm with the embrace, even if that was how my damaged psyche decided to interpret it.

Striding in a determined fashion towards the door once more, I muttered as I passed, "Do not touch me," and swept out of the room while clutching myself to stop the shaking that threatened to take over.

When I exited, I slammed the door behind myself, falling against the door heavily as soon as it was shut. Breathing heavily, I started to regain my composure as best I could. I could not act like that my entire life, being scared of others, being scared of others' touch. This could not go on...

"Arty?" I heard from across the hall. Jumping a little, but recognizing the nickname, I looked up into eyes so very similar to mine.

"Hello, Father," I replied shakily, trying to push myself off the door, but finding the missing support too much.

"Are you alright?" he asked, reaching out to take me by the arm and stopping when I unconsciously flinched away.

"Sorry. I am alright..." I reassured him in a very disconcerting voice. Somewhat defeated the purpose, that.

"It is fine, Arty. Come one, let me help you," he said, smiling and taking my arm firmly, yet gently.

Feeling at peace with his firm steady guidance, I leaned into his assistance a little more than necessary and let myself relax. Father lead me out onto the one balcony on the whole Fowl estate. The one that he had built for Mother, when he had married her. It was furnished with intricately welded Victorian style tea tables and chairs. A flock of small sparrows ate out of a plate of breadcrumbs left on the wide railing, taking off in a flutter of movement and shocked cheeps as we approached. It was one of the most beautiful places on the whole Fowl estate and offered a breathtaking view of the town below, nestled nicely in the resident valley. I knew well how deeply Mother and Father loved this place.

"Take a seat," Father said, sitting me down in one of the white tea chairs, then seating himself opposite of myself.

"Arty..." he began, taking a deep breath and a small pause to gather together all of his thoughts. "What happened back there, with Butler?" he asked, watching my face intently.

"I ... yelled at him. For going to America," I said, greatly simplifying what had happened, but still telling the truth. I did not want to lie to my father, but I also did not want to discuss what had just happened. I was not quite ready to admit to myself how deeply the whole event with Cromsworth had affected me.

"Is that all?" he asked, his eyes twinkling keenly. He was much smarter than what his kind nature would belie. "He did not make any untoward advances towards you?" he asked, still watching my reaction closely. A little too closely.

"What do you mean, 'advances'? He ... grabbed me and embraced me. It took me off guard, so I became a little flustered. That is all," I said, telling the truth, but toning it down much more than actual happening had been.

"I will have to address this..." Father said, rubbing his temples with his index and middle fingers, as he often did anymore. Ever since he had come back from the arctic...

"Do you have a headache?" I asked, concerned. Those headaches of his always worried me. I had watched him once pass out from the pure pain that those migraines could cause him.

"Yes, but that is not important right now. Listen, Artemis, I want you to be careful around Butler from now on," he said firmly, checking my facial expression quickly before closing his eyes again, concentrating on willing the pain away, I surmised.

"I do not understand your motives," I said quietly, not wanting to aggravate his obvious discomfort any further. "Why would Butler be dangerous?" I asked, innocently wanting to know. Father had always been good friends with Butler. I wondered if the recent incident had caused him to re-evaluate his view on the bodyguard. If so, I would feel guilty. After all, even if I was still quite angry with Butler, I did not quite blame him or feel betrayed by him. I was just horribly stubborn when it came to forgiving people, because that was a form of apologizing or admitting I was wrong.

"If you do not already know, then I would not want to distress you any further with the information," he said simply. Cryptically. "Now, would you be so kind as to get me my painkillers. I believe this might become a bad one..." he grunted out, attacking his head with his knuckles now.

"Of course," I said, getting up and rushing as much as I could in my own weakened state to Father's quarters. I did not know what he meant, but I knew it could not be good. Not for anyone.


	7. Confessions That Bring No Comfort

**Chapter Seven:** Confessions That Bring No Comfort

The weather was not so fair the day as it was the one before it. Big heavy raindrops exploded against the windowpane and their released contents ran down the double-thick glass in slow undulating rivulets. The huge picture window that had been open yesterday, letting a refreshing breeze whisper in, was now shut tight and showed not but gray blobs and foggy outlines.

I glared out at the dark and gloomy atmosphere, pondering whether my deep doubts about the things that happened yesterday had coated the outside world in such dreary and dreadful shadows.

"Artemis?" I heard Remy call for perhaps the millionth time since I had come back from the hospital. Always did he call my name with such teasing and testing tones. As if, just to make sure there had been no new cracks in my already damaged psyche.

"What?" I asked, irritably, reverting back to one syllable sentence fragments.

"Breakfast!" he answered back, holding a tray filled with all manner of morning foods under my nose.

I snorted my disgust. It felt nothing like a morning. All I felt was this nasty mixture of suspicion, resentment, and regret over everything said and done the day before. Breakfast hardly seemed tempting.

"Hey? What's wrong? What happened between you and that bodyguard guy, anyway?" Remy asked, putting the tray down on a nearby table and sitting on the arm of the chair placed conveniently beside the window I had been peering out of for the last week or so.

"Do you really think it is any of your business what happens between me and my bodyguard?" I asked venomously. He had no right to pry into my private life. I had no interest in being comforted either. It would have been much better for the both of us if would just leave the subject as it was.

"I suppose not... But, if something is bothering you, then I wish that you would let me help," Remy offered, reaching out and laying his hand on my forearm. I immediately whipped my arm away, as if burnt or electrocuted. Appalled by my own reaction and the look of hurt on Remy's face, I paused, planning on apologizing, but no such apology fell from my mouth. Instead, I bowed my head in shame and held the offending arm in one hand, not meeting eyes with Remy.

"You know ..." Remy began with no malice in his voice. Surprised, I looked up with haunted eyes, though I had no idea they looked as such. "You've become a lot more violent lately. I can't blame you, though. If there's anything you don't like, you can tell me. I won't get hurt. Promise!" Remy explained, taking my face in his hand. I have to admit, I resisted for a moment a small panic rising in my chest from being restrained, but I fought it back.

Because, I was going to get my kiss! Finally, finally! My kiss! The one I had been wanting and waiting for for ... I had forgotten how long. For the past few days, every time he and I attempted to get close, someone would barge in. Mother wanted to know if I was hungry, Father wanted to know if I wanted play chess, and Juliet just generally wanted to bother me. Everyone was so worried that they drove me insane and kept me from the one thing I truly wanted. Remy.

His lips were still gentle, sweet, and ever so forgiving, massaging life into my noticeably cold and lifeless ones. When he kissed me it was unlike anything I had known. It was like – Oh, It is so hard to explain! As if he made me into someone I was not and soothed my soul, smoothing out all the wrinkles that I had accumulated over the years. He made me feel as if I was not any different from any other person and, yet, I was intensely unique. As if I was not bad, or mean, or just over the top intelligent. He made me feel like I was just the one for him and that was all I really needed to be. Like that was all I wanted to be, which it was.

I hate to say it, even now. Still, I knew that I loved Remy.

-Hours Before, in the Sewers of Dublin, Ireland-

Deep in the rank and dripping sewers of the Irish metropolis, a man who was not a man hid himself and his lack of guilt. The man lived in a dank and sad little shack off the edge of a river of human and inhuman waste, reveling in his perceived success over Domovoi Butler. Over and over, he pictured the young Artemis Fowl in a grimace of pain or simply staring off into the corner with that broken look on his face. He thought often of the choked cries the boy would let out with a little prodding and bullying. However, what he thought of the most was the way the young boy felt deep inside. Sad to say, but it was the best fuck he had in years! Not that he was gay or anything. He just could not help but admit that Artemis' tight hot insides were way better than any hoe he ever got off the streets. Perhaps, if Butler was fired from his job as he supposed he would be for "kidnapping" his charge, then he would step up and take the job. It would be heaven to see the kid again. Of course, he'd have to make another mask, but that would be no problem. He was a master of creating faces.

There was splashing outside. Probably just some strange type of refuse or a really huge rat, but he knew he should probably check it out.

Mornsworth crawled slowly and grumpily out of his hiding place beneath a ragged blue tarp and slowly scanned the area. Nothing. As he had thought. Cursing and muttering about being ripped from his pleasurable daydreams, the monster of a man turned to go back into his relatively dry tent only to be faced with an equally terrifying monster. However, this monster was terrifying for a different reason. This monster was not scary for the disgusting horrors he was capable of committing against innocents, no. He was terrifying for the horrible light of vengeance burning in his eyes that suggested that he could be doubly cruel to those who were monstrous to innocents.

"D-Domovoi!" Mornsworth stuttered out stumbling backwards and falling into the slow flowing muck of the sewer system and not even noticing. "How? When? No, please!" he began to plead as the bodyguard of his most recent victim advanced on him. "Please, I'm sorry Domovoi! I didn't really hurt the boy! Don't Kill Me!" he broke, hiding his head and face behind his hand as Butler stopped just before the flowing muck.

"And, you'll never get the chance to hurt him again," Butler stated plainly, pulling out a .45 Wesson pistol and aiming it squarely between Mornsworth's eyes. Then, moving suddenly, he changed coordinates and shot off the Rapist's right knee cap. Just as the cries of pain started in Mornsworth's throat, Butler switched targets again and shot off the left knee. Falling to his incapacitated knees, Artemis' attacker left loose a volley of cries and sobs unlike anything most would think a human could create. Human waste immediately flowed into the puncture wounds created by Butler's pistol, meaning almost certain infection of Gangrene if Mornsworth somehow managed to survive.

"Oh, God, please, Domovoi, Butler, please, God, please have Mercy!" Mornsworth pleaded, or blubbered more like it.

A grim smile crept across Butler's face as he saw the object of his hatred so belittled. Deciding to torture him even further, Butler asked the man sitting prone before him in a river of human feces, "How many times did you deny that to Artemis? Tell me that?" Pointing the .45 Wesson at Mornsworth again, his smile disappeared.

"What?" Mornsworth asked back, seemingly confused by the question.

"Wrong answer," Butler growled, letting loose two more bullets, each burying themselves in opposite shoulders and causing another volley of screams and cries, though these held no words or pleas, only animalistic moans and sobs. No more pleading just the shock of impending death and doom.

"I'll be seeing you then, Mornsworth," Butler whispered, leveling the pistol once more, again aiming it right between the Rapist's eyes. "In hell."

-Fowl Manor-

A few moments later, I was lying on my back on the bed, with Remy over top of me. Yes, things were progressing very nicely, indeed! His hands ran over my chest stomach and sides as his tongue tangled with my own and then disengaged to explore my mouth before challenging my tongue again. Overall, it was an extremely enjoyable act, in and of itself. With all of the bad things and stressful insinuations of the past few days, this was a very well needed release. I could tell that Remy was enjoying the play-time as well. After all, he was getting a make-out session with little to no coercion on my part. Something of a miracle, I must admit.

Both his movements and expressions were fevered and rushed, full of longing for something a little more than what we had advanced to yet. His hands traveled down my sides and grasped at my rear-end, eliciting a little squeak that I was fully embarrassed by.

"Remy!" I yelled, pushing him off me and breathing a little hard.

"Sorry," he immediately apologized, blushing lightly himself. "I went too far, didn't I? I'm sorry."

"No, it is fine. I understand," I replied, reigning in my own temper. He was worried about me, and I knew better than anyone that Remy tended to express himself physically, though he did not really understand that himself.

"Really?" he asked, hopeful. His eyes got big and smiled at me big and wide. A goofy and completely carefree smile. Dear, what an envious expression.

"Really. How about a sandwich? Does that sound good, hm?" I asked him, easing myself off the side of the bed while wiping spit from the side of my mouth.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Remy exclaimed, bouncing off the bed and standing in front of me, still smiling happily, even eliciting a small smile from myself. Oh, I was really loosing it. How he entertained me, this energetic little ball of yellow fuzz!

"Okay. Good boy," I congratulated him, patting his head in a very degrading and mocking way, though it only made him giggle a little and run off and out of the room. I moved to follow him, but stopped when I heard his footsteps stop and his conversing with someone else, just outside the door. "Remy?" I called, questioningly. This was making me a little nervous. No one else was in the house, as far as I had been told. Hopefully they had not stumbled in on us in that compromising position.

It was not Remy who came in and closed the door behind him, but Butler. My bodyguard stood before me, apparently appraising my disheveled appearance with disapproving eyes full of sadness and scorn.

"Butler," I acknowledged, attempting to brush past him and out the door without anymore contact than had already been established. I did not get very far.

"Wait, Artemis. I have something to say to you," Butler said, after stopping me with an outstretched arm which barred my escape route out the door.

"I do not suppose I have much choice. What is it?" I asked, still of little patience to speak with him for any length of time.

"I want you to know that man will never come after you again. He won't be able to hurt you every again. I took care of him for you," Butler explained quietly, leaning down so that we were close to the same level, though he was still a good six inches above me.

"Am I supposed to forgive you, now?" I asked, a little skeptical. I could guess by what he meant when he said, 'took care of', but did not really see a well-placed bullet as repentance for the decades upon centuries spent at that man's mercy. That, at least, was my view on the subject. He would have done better to have impaled the man alive. And, not through the gut, either.

"I could beg you right here to forgive me and I would if I thought it would do any good. However, why I really told you that was so that you could have some peace of mind. You don't have to worry about him. Not anymore. I will protect you faithfully from now on.

"Like you have these past few days?" I asked sarcastically, lightly pointing out his long absences over the last three days when no one could really account for his whereabouts. I had not felt vulnerable, not with everybody hovering around me, but it was rather ironic.

"I mean it!" Butler exclaimed, getting down on his knees and grasping my upper arms and not letting go, though I flinched and made vague attempts to escape. "I want to protect you Artemis, forever. I won't leave your side ever again. I don't want to leave you and there should be no reason for me to do so."

"Do you have any idea what that sounded like?" I whispered with a nasty sneer. If I could not brush him off, I would resort to hurting him with sarcasm and hard mean mocking comments.

"I do. That's exactly what it was," Butler said, his voice flat and his meaning plain.

My eyes grew wide. I felt them widen and my whole body stiffened. Butler had confessed his love to me. To me! The cruel and unapproachable Artemis Fowl. The human ice sculpture. Oh, poor thing he was.

Immediately, I wanted to accept his confession. The strong powerful Butler wanted me above all others, but the more logical part of my brain popped in for a cameo. It had not been around since I was released from Mornsworth's care. It told me that no matter how real his feelings, this could not work. No matter how well we got along, I could not love him. No matter how good a bodyguard Butler was, he was not a good lover and I knew that. Though he loved me, he was twice my age, perhaps more with his artificially aged appearance. Our love would have to be hidden and covert in all ways. That he had many lovers, I knew that. Women and men alike had called the Manor before looking for him. The men's voices were sometimes hurt and cold and the women were crying at times. He broke hearts as quickly as he obtained them. He liked to have many lovers and, though I might be special to him, how long before he could not hold back his carnal urges. I obviously could not supply his needs. He would have to find it elsewhere. However, the most intense feeling that I had was that I could not love him. If only he had asked me before I went off to school last September. If only he had stayed closer to me and fanned my juvenile feelings for him further past the thin line between admiration and love. If only... If only his words had found my heart before Remy did.

"I'm sorry," I said, sincerely, reaching out to tentatively run my fingers down the side of his face. "I'm sorry, I can not. I can not return your feelings Domovoi."


	8. Echoing

**Chapter Eight: **Echoing

As might go without saying, there was a lot of beseeching, and crying, and just general drama and mayhem that night. My relationship with Butler was permanently altered. I did not know where Butler was by nightfall nor in what light he regarded me anymore. I lightly worried for Remy's well-being, but quickly dismissed it. I had full confidence that, no matter what emotional state Butler was in, he would keep a reign on his emotions and separate personal from professional like any good bodyguard knows to do.

However, the entire house seemed keen to what had happened between the two of us. My father came to me directly afterward to have a quiet dinner of grilled rosemary chicken by the open windows. After that, Mother invited both me and Remy to watch some strange and inconceivable women's movie on a woman in the late seventies who was abused by her husband. Remy and Mother immediately began trading tissues when the woman gathered up her wits enough to face her bear monster of her husband and I had the presence of mind enough to keep my mouth shut and keep quiet.

After that, Juliet dragged both me and Remy down into the yard and her and Remy had a fight to the death over some obscure wrestling move that she swore could be done from the top ropes while he argued that it would have done more damage to the aggressor than the prey. They had their own little tussle which ended in Juliet jumping off a tree branch to test her theory. She executed it perfectly and ended up nearly knocking poor little Remy unconscious. This ended up with her dragging him, quite literally, into the house and the bathroom for some first aide by my own hand. After I was done and Remy was busy whining on the bathroom floor, Juliet showed me the darkening bruises on her back grinning. Apparently, she liked Remy a lot and gave me her blessings right there and then. I thought it very big of her and graced her with a smile, though I am not truly sure if I meant to do that from the beginning. I do not regret it.

When all of this was finished, Remy had finally caught wind of what had transpired between Butler and I. His way of dealing with it was to be extra gentle, extra fun, and just extra loving, I suppose. As the sun fell below the hills surrounding Fowl Manor, I felt safe in his arms and held no qualms about leaning into him just a small bit more than I usually did.

Even though I did not regret turning Butler down, I did not like it either. I felt it was necessary, yet I wished that there had been some way to avoid it, to put it off for another hour or even a minute. Anything to preserve things the way they were for just a brief moment more, even if I was busy hating him for that extra minute. The thought of loosing him to any point at all dug deep in my chest and buried itself, cold and metallic, right beside my heart. It hurt. Deeply.

When the sun had dipped far below the horizon and all that was left to document its existence in this realm was a soft tinting of pink against the twinkling night sky, Remy lifted me up with a soft tug and guided me out of the brisk night air into the close air of inside. He held my hand all the way to my room and we did not talk. As soon as the door was closed, his lips were on mine and we were not able to talk. His hands were hot against my stomach, though I could not remember when he had slipped them under my shirt, and they were contrasting the cool wood of my door against my back. His hands were feverish and his lips were frantic, drinking everything from me hurriedly, yet savoring. I was not quite sure how he accomplished this, but I commended him on it.

Next, the wood was gone from my back to be replaced by the soft and accommodating bed coverlet. His hands and lips were still everywhere, so that I felt as if I was not in my room, but in Remy himself. He wrapped me up in himself and it was only him and I in the entire world. Some little voice in the back of my head wondered idly if Remy would be lonely when he ate me up.

'Will he be lonely when I am all gone and he is all alone in this world just for us?'

'Of course not! Remy is going to burn with me,' I answered the voice.

Soon the clothes were stripping off our bodies like the layers of an onion, revealing never before seen flesh and pale areas never touched, even by the vicious sun. I was truly wrapped up in him now. It seemed every part of my body was touching his and it was fire. It was passion, it was sex at its finest, it was love.

There was so much grinding, undulating, and writhing for such a while, stoking the fires ever higher until there was no reasoning in this act that had never passed between the two of us before. Finally, the animalistic movements began to gain some purpose other than just to gain some ephemeral satisfaction. His hands slipped between my legs much easier than they should have and his fingers slipped into me without protest from me or my little opening. I gasped and I wiggled about, complaining through little gasps about some vague discomfort, while Remy licked and kissed away the pains. There was stretching and curious little wiggles of his fingers that felt much nicer than I ever thought they would. Sex was like this? I never would have guessed.

After some untold numbers of Remy's fingers had ventured into me and thoroughly invaded me pleasantly, I felt something different pushing and prodding with little rocking gestures at the juncture between my legs. I whined a little. A low, long groaning sound that sounded pathetic even to me sneaked out of my mouth. At this, Remy leaned down, brushing his lips against my cheeks, and kissed away the little trails of tears caused by the tingles that had been ravishing my spine and the deep burning heat gathered in my groin. He whispered a barely audible apology and continued his careful pushing until he was buried deep, extremely deep, within me.

Everything stopped. Remy stopped moving and stay poised above me, panting lightly. I remained unmoved beneath him, my hips tipped up slightly and my hands level with my head while my chest heaved with silent sobs. For all the frantic heated movement of a few moments ago everything was still then, and all I could feel was him pulsating within me and the tight feel of pulling pain around him. The feel of a string's strands snapping under the strain of a weight it can not possibly hold.

But, that feeling persisted in diminishing until I started to feel a deep and throbbing pleasure from being filled so deeply. Catching my breath with a little gasp, I finally dragged my eyes up to Remy's face, my eyes imploring him silently to continue. And, he did.

Just a gentle rocking at first. Experimental. As I slowly got used to the feeling, my hips rocked forward with the same gentle motion to meet his hips. This encouraged him more and his thrusts became a little harder, a little deeper. My arms went around his neck to give me better leverage and thrust back. His hands wrapped around and grasped my shoulders, stabilizing himself to thrust harder. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck as a particularly good thrust hit some small spot that sent a jolt of pleasure through me. He began to bite my neck, to leave the small indentation of his teeth against my nape.

Then, I was gasping. Something was building. I could feel myself building, the fire reaching higher, reaching towards the sky, the apex. I tried to tell him, I hoped that he could hear my gasped pleas, decipher my meaning, read between the lines of my little mewling as he usually did. I think he did.

Picking me up and sitting me in his lap, he began to hold me up just a little bit and thrust up and out, rubbing against me with each movement. Rubbing me against him. Finally, with one little gasping cry from him and a full throated moaning scream from myself, him clutching me to his chest, we climaxed. And, it was exhausting.

-Later-

School has started up again. Summer has given way to fall, taking with it the sweltering nights and sticky humidity to make room for a wonderful blending of oranges and reds. It is like my little summer adventure never happened. However, if you look just beneath the surface of my happy student life you can see the soft reshaping my life has taken as result of it. Remy and I are even closer than before. We are truly and deeply lovers, now, no longer just boyfriends. Jack and I have become Siamese twins, he being the only one I told of the incident that was not initially informed. I am less cruel to the teachers, more forgiving to their idiotic mistakes. I am less worried about becoming a great and powerful man and more worried about what the school lunch is or what stupid date idea Remy's going to come up with next.

Butler and I are still close friends. If anything, I think he respects me more and loves me just a little deeper, though in a different way. I am a being that is capable of love and considering things in a less than logical sense. I would like to think that makes me a little bit more approachable to the normal human being.

There has been no word on the whereabouts of my attacker and I blame this on no one, but Butler. He has not told me what he did for me, but I can see it in his eyes when someone mentions his name. That cold satisfaction when someone drops the consoling fact that there has been no sign of him as of yet. It would not even take a genius, not even of my caliber, to see the truth behind those icy blue eyes.

As for the faerie that were completely absent throughout this story? Come now, children! This only spans a few days. I am not such a freak to spend every waking moment with the fae! However, I did get condolences from Miss Holly Short, whom awkwardly announced that if I ever wanted to talk about it, she was ever eager to listen. I have not heard from Captain Root or Foaly, so I would like to assume that they are not aware of the occurrences of that summer. A godsend, I say. I would hate to think of how awkward they would be with how much trouble Holly had with it.

Ah, but now Remy is calling for me. Something about a swimming pool adventure. Oh dear, if he wants me to go swimming he had better think about it once more. Sorry that I must leave you as so. Just take solace that this is nowhere near the end of this story. I have quite a few years to weave a tale greater and larger than this one and all the ones that came before it.

With great and affectionate appreciation,  
Artemis Fowl Junior.

The End.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Have I mentioned I hate the sun. I believe I have, but it bears repeating. I, Artemis Fowl the Second, hate the sun. I always have. Because, I am Irish. The Irish were never meant for the sun. That is why, my dear readers, we all live way up north in Ireland. However, for some ungodly reason, it was decided that the trip my friends and I would be having the summer of our junior year in high school would be to the beautiful sunny beaches of the South of France.

This is, of course, a wonderful choice for most any high school student. There are a lot of teenage theme shops and clubs in the larger port towns, miles and miles of soft sandy beaches, and all kinds of youth hostels, pensions, or nice cheap ocean side hotels for the low budgeted high school student to stay in. By all accounts, a fine choice. If it had been any other slightly flawed place, I probably would have won the argument against it. As you might have already guessed, I did not. I was out voted, three to one on the location voting. I wanted to go to Tokyo, but no. No, we had to go someplace affordable.

I get sun poisoning. I am none too fond of the beach.

All the same, I was still sitting out on that blindingly hot sand beside an infuriatingly happy Remy. The beach, after all, is exactly Remy's element. He loves water, tans easily (even though he has light colored hair), and never seems bothered by having sand in unsavory areas. He is deeply infuriating.

Jack and his new boyfriend, Ira, were out in the water with a ridiculously big plastic ball, bouncing the thing back and forth. I could tell from the way that Remy watched the two that he wanted to join them, but did not want to leave me alone on the beach. Even though I had not wanted to go along, the whole trip Remy had been very particular about making sure I did not feel excluded. It was endearing, but also smelled of condescension. It was not as if my little heart would just fall to pieces if he left my side for two minutes. Besides, he was making Jack's boy toy nervous.

Ira, the newest love of the most infamous Jack, was not really understanding the situation correctly. He was a smart boy, in a bookish sort of way. He was the secretary of the Student Council at school, had top grades in all of his classes and could usually be found with a weighty stack of studying books under his arm. He was a quiet and admirable young man that I did not mind spending time with at all. Truthfully, I did not understand why such a sarcastic and unmotivated man like Jack wanted a perfect student like Ira or why Ira was having him, but I supposed that it was none of my business what they did together. I am still under the impression that is how most people approach my relationship with Remy.

Ira, by the by, was also a red head. The sun was disastrous for him as well. We had not been off the train for more than an hour before I noticed his exposed freckled arms turning a light pink color. At that point, Ira's skin had turned something of a violent red and I could tell that he was pretending that was not the case. However, the fact that he kept looking longingly at the umbrella under which I was stubbornly hidden revealed to me quite obviously that he'd rather be hiding from the sun as well. But, the impending atmosphere of a double date was too strong and kept him away. It definitely felt like Remy was giving off a, "I'm trying to have a lover's moment, please back off," vibe. I even felt it. It pissed me off.

"Hey, Artemis, are you thirsty?" Remy asked, interrupting my brooding hate-fest. I jumped slightly, and then slowly turned my head to look over my shoulder at him with a pointed glare. There he was, looking completely comfortable again. He was sprawled out on a beach towel with a simple striped design. He was only clad in a pair of bright blue trunks with a bubble decal on it. It left his washboard abs and long slender arms and legs completely exposed. Normally, that sort of thing would have been deeply attractive, but under the circumstances, it just served to send me into deeper circles of hatred instead.

I was about to tell him off, but then thought better. Ira was glancing over towards us again, not paying attention to the game of "hit the stupid beach ball". If I could shoo Remy away, perhaps Ira would finally be able to find his respite from the vicious sun. That sunburn really did look painful.

"Sure," I spat, but much less venomously than I would have wished I could. "But, only if you go get a bottle. I want to be able to close it," I warned, wanting him to have to search a little before he could come back and things could get awkward again. "A Root beer."

"I didn't know you liked Root beer," Remy said innocently, smiling falteringly with that sad little puppy dog face that was supposed to make me feel bad for snapping at him. Though, it was not working at that time. There was too much of an edge of annoyance in his voice to sound completely convincing.

"Well, I do," I said finally. Remy sat around waiting for more for a short while before grunting dismissively and getting up. He thought he was doing me a favor by clinging to me like a barnacle to the hull of a ship, so I supposed my attitude must have been frustrating for him. Not that I particularly cared at that point.

When Remy had finally skittered off to find that hopefully non-existent soda, I made a point of catching Ira's eye and waving him over with a faint movement. It was funny how his face lit up so much that I could see it from far back on the beach away from the spray of the surf. Ira then turned to Jack and seemed to converse quickly with him before shooting out of the water and bouncing up the hill of sand over to our little cluster of blankets and bags under the huge umbrella. With a sigh of relief, Ira plopped down beside me, and then groaned as he leaned forward and presumably stretched the burnt skin on his back.

Jack came wandering up after Ira with a much more relaxed gait.

"Where's the emergency?" he asked in a vaguely annoyed voice. I believe that he was enjoying the view of Ira having to splash, jump, and dive in the sparkling water. It was too bad that his subject of interest was not enjoying the exposure.

"Your boyfriend is about to catch on fire," I mentioned blankly.

"Crap, you're right. Ira, you're fire engine red!" Jack cackled, finally unable to maintain his concerned demeanor. The laughing little maniac sat down beside Ira and then proceeded to poke his arm and giggle as the skin turned white at the touch and then back to its characteristic red.

"Stop being such a prick, Jack. Here, Ira," I said, pulling a bottle of strong smelling green stuff called Aloe Vera which out of my bag which would sooth the sting of the sunburn. "Get Jack to put this on you. It helps," I said, trying to manage my best friendly smile. I really did like Ira. He was a nice kid. Though a bit of a push over when it came to Jack. He should learn to be more forceful like yours truly.

"Ah, thank you, Artemis," Ira said with one of those shining smiles that dazzled teachers and students alike.

"It was nothing," I said easily. The rest of the conversation was held mostly between Jack and Ira. A little squabbling here and there amidst sighs and exclamations as to how good the stuff felt, or how cold or sticky it was. Things were going well, even felt vaguely normal, until Remy came around with an obviously hurt look on his face.

"Having a party without me?" he asked in a little heartbroken voice.

"Ah, Remy, my man, my homey-G, my dawg, you're finally here!" Jack exclaimed, cackling loudly and falling onto his back, pulling Ira down with him. It would have been adorable if Ira hadn't whined and yelped the whole way down.

But, it had the desired effect and Remy laughed and sat down next to me, pulling me obnoxiously close. Was he competing with Jack? That kind of thought started to drive me insane and I brushed off his arm, earning myself a glare and giving it right back. Ira noticed it, I could tell from the little worried quirk of his eyebrow. But, he did not say anything and instead let himself fall back into Jack's arms, pretending to have seen nothing.

An awkward silence stretched out for a little while, before Remy finally yanked me up off my bum and dragged me forth into the singing sun. "Let's go down to the water, Arty. What you got to loose?" he asked in a threatening voice.

I scoffed and truly wanted to tell him off, but I was having a hard time keeping up. He was really hauling me towards the water with all the strength he had. So, it did not take him long to get me down into the water. The freezing cold, smelly, salty water. I made quite a racket, as well. It took some creativity, but I was able to string along a rather inventive string of insults all the way to the shoreline. I was hoping to shame him into letting me go. Too bad it was Remy, otherwise my plan would have worked.

Instead, I was left standing in waist deep water with only Remy keeping me from being bowled over by waves.

"I said you are hurting my arm! Stop squeezing it!" I snarled. Finally he did, but he did not let go of me, just switched his grip to my hips instead, continuing to glare purposefully at me with those shattering blue eyes.

"What's been wrong with you? You've had a bug up your ass all day," he said in a rather unhappy voice.

"Well, I apologize for not enjoying myself on a trip I never wanted to go on, with a guy who's far too clingy, in a place I invariably hate," I spat back at him, still attempting to worm my way out of his grasp and back to the shore.

"Stop being so bitchy! No one's forcing you to come," he said. It was in a very Holier-Than-Thou fashion as well.

"Then, maybe I will -." The next part of that sentence would have been, 'just go home, then.' That is, if I hadn't been attacked by a most vicious creature. I realize that I was flailing about in the water quite a bit trying to escape from Remy's grasp and that some overzealous animal activist would have considered me the aggressor, but in my mind that jelly fish will always be in the wrong.

As my foot came down, it came down on something gooey and slimy and slipped out from beneath my foot easily. But, not before biting the underside of my foot rather viciously. A pain akin to that afflicted by a cactus assaulted the bitten area, with a powerful burning sensation following along to engulf most of my foot and lower part of my lower leg. Much to my disgrace, I let loose a pathetic cry and collapsed back against Remy, clinging to his shoulders while tucking my legs up against me, in an attempt to escape the murderous little creature that had already made its fortuitous escape.

In my mind's eye, I could see the hopelessness of the situation. The jellyfish, perceiving danger from my erratic destruction of the current and, ultimately, my physical contact with its non threatening bulbous upper area, had lashed out. It would have brought most of its tentacles up along the bottom side of my foot and, with the pinpoint accuracy granted it by a millennium of evolution, shot a slight pulse of electrical stimulus down the long thin appendage, releasing a volley of poison packed arrows right into the painfully sensitive area at the bottom of my foot. The bastard.

"W-what? What happened?" Remy asked hesitantly, still a little suspicious and more than a little disoriented by the sudden switch in my emotions.

I looked up into his face with shining eyes and a desperate expression. I could see his cheeks flush and his muscles twitch and tense slightly against my trembling body. For a moment, I realized how great my answer was.

"A jellyfish bit me!" I yelped.

His face fell.

Later, I found myself sitting miserably on the front porch of our little motel room, a few blocks from the sea. I was enjoying the sound of the surf breaking in the distance and the caw of seagulls overhead. The sounds blended surprisingly well with the industrial noise of cars running feverishly up and down the street and the babble of people speaking in any number of languages. Filling in the remainder of the mental image was the feel of sand being kicked up by the wind and hitting my exposed skin plaintively, lonely so far from the sea. There was the taste of salt on my lips and tongue, as well as the smell of it, mixed with fatty fried foods and gourmet dishes baking in high class ovens.

All of this was calming and beautiful, as long as I didn't open my eyes. The motel itself was a disgusting example of cheap and uneducated architecture. It was also a great example of everything that had been wrong with the tenement buildings of the industrial revolution, because that's exactly the style it was formed after. The building made a large U shape with tall walls of unadorned cement, three walls of rooms with the fourth wall being non-existent, acting as an opening for the ocean wind to blow in. If you looked out your door, you were looking directly at another dingy red door. It was depressing. But, it was cheap. That was the selling point to my esteemed friends.

I sighed and licked my dry lips once again, readjusting the ice on my foot for the millionth time. It still stung a little bit, but not near as much as before.

I looked back on the events of the last hour or so with distaste. Jack had been quick to make fun of my jelly assaulted foot and Remy did not seem to care too deeply, definitely not enough to come to my rescue. Ira seemed concerned, but in a cordial and professional way. I'm sure he thought I was over reacting a little bit.

Really, it just seemed to me that everything was compiling far too fast. I had also meant to make that vacation with Remy a wonderful one, but it had only become a lamentable disaster. From the destination, to the addition of Jack and Ira, to Remy's own behavior, everything just seemed to insist on falling to pieces.

Of course, I was not so vain as to think I was not at fault as well. I kept thinking that I should not have said this and never should have done that. But, by that point, there was not much I could do to take those things back.

Thus, I was left alone at our dumpy little motel while the other three went out to check out the boardwalk stores. Remy had promised to look for jellyfish bite remedies, but I got the feeling that he would spend more time looking at sunglasses.

Tears stung my eyes, but I brushed them away. My thoughts drifted to what would happen when we were out of school. Would we go to the same college? I had my pick of schools, but what if I wanted to go somewhere more challenging than Bradley Academy? I, obviously, could not stay with Remy forever. That went without saying. However, it put a fear in me I had never felt that Remy might have been floating away from me already, at that time. The fear weighed down, waterlogged and cold, at the bottom of my heart.

With a little hiss of pain, I slipped my sandal back on and resolved to go somewhere. The sharply shadowed depths of the motel's courtyard was not lightening my mood, so I meant to find a place sunnier and much more quaint.

I shambled down the street to the bus stop, oblivious to the strange looks all of the tanned, gorgeous beach kids were giving me, the pale, Irish, limping, emaciated youth. Once there, I was greatly relieved to see that there was a bench for me to rest at while I awaited the bus.

I only hoped that Remy, Jack, and Ira would not have the good fortune to round the corner and see me there, then accompany to my destination, or persuade me into returning to our room together with them. My hoping paid off and the bus arrived before I could be accompanied or persuaded in any way.

The bus made a large rambling circle, but eventually ended up at my destination. The bus station was conveniently positioned at the pier, where I wanted to go. There, I found my most beloved Italian lemon flavored ice cream and continued my shamble towards the inevitably hidden ladder that every pier has that leads down to the beach below. Sadly, I found this one harder to handle than most of them. It was rusted and the spray of the surf had made it slick and wet, so my sore, sandaled foot had a hard time getting a good grip..

There, under the protective cover of the huge structure above, I watched the sun set over foreign waters. It was incredibly beautiful, yet incredibly lonely. The shaved ice I had bought only kept my attention for a short time. The rest was left to brooding.

Once I started to think about the situation too much, I began to explode the gravity of the problem. We, really, were only having a small argument, but it was extremely frustrating after all the high expectations for the vacation. After thinking about it for too long, I started to both ashamed of my actions and angry at Remy's behavior. The more I brooded, the more abhorring the idea of returning to the hotel and facing Remy seemed.

For a long time, I considered calling Butler, having him set me up in a different hotel, come pick me up in the morning, and then take me somewhere else: the ruins of Machu Pichu or Red Square. I would simply call Remy later and explain that the jelly fish bite had gotten me sick and I had gone home early. He would be angry for a time, but he would get over it and we could get back to the way it was before.

The longer I thought about it, however, the more pathetic it sounded. I, Artemis Fowl, savior and tormentor of all fairy kind, could not take a single romantic week away at the beach with friends. It was completely unbelievable.

So, with that train of thought, the only solution to my convoluted and unhelpful thoughts was to go back and work it out with Remy. Though, I compromised with myself to simply go back, not say a word about what I was feeling, and just go ahead and force myself to get over it.

It took much longer than one would think to come to this conclusion. By the time I was resolved to this, the sun had dipped below the curve of the earth and the ocean looked like it was on fire. Liquid fire. Nice oxymoron. Even I can be romantic about some things.

I checked my foot with a tentative hand, only to find that the jelly fish's venom had finally worn off and there was only a slight residue of discomfort left. It left me surprisingly light hearted to know that and it seemed that I almost floated up that rusted out ladder and to the boardwalk above. Not wanting to return to the hotel room empty handed (and expose myself as having sulked the whole time) I decided to go get something cheap and playful. I started to scan the pier and nearby boardwalk. There, I quickly found a disgustingly large arcade and hovered myself on inside.

Now, this may not be well known to many, but I, Artemis Fowl Junior, happen to be a champ at Skee-Ball. In fact, within the hour, I had enough tickets to buy myself a very strangely placed pair of handcuffs. Sadly, by the time I had gotten enough tickets to buy the handcuffs, I no longer had change for the bus.

It was no matter. My foot had stopped its incessant tingling, by that point. Thus, I had no qualms about walking back to the room. I could only imagine how upset everyone would be. If I had been more conscientious, I would have called, but I had left my cell phone on the desk in the room. Butler would have killed me if he heard that, but there was no reason for him to know something like that. Besides, I did not actually believe that I would have called anyone that night anyway.

Surprisingly, there was no one in the room when I finally returned. The door had been locked, and none of the beds had been disturbed, though there seemed to be a scattering of plastic shopping bags and change on most of the tables. From these things, I could assume only a few things. One, that they had returned and noticed I was gone. Two, they had flew around the room grabbing things and dropping things off in too much of a hurry to clean up. Three, they knew that I did not have my cell phone (it was sitting on the dresser, not on the desk where I left it). Four, they must have left to find me and locked the door knowing that I had my key.

It was a good idea to call them and let them know I was back. Better to let them get angry when they were a ways away from me, so their anger could abate a bit before they returned. It took me a while to get up the courage to call, but I eventually decided on Jack first. I would have called Ira, but I did not have his number.

However, when I had selected Jack's name and pressed the send button, all I got was his voice mail box. I left a curt message letting him know I got back to the room okay, then quickly hung up. That only left Remy.

My heart was pounding in my neck as I listened to the shrill ringing of his cell phone through the speaker pressed to my ear. It rang two, then three, four times before it finally went to his voice mail. It was his normal cheerful message. Somehow, I had thought that the message would be angry and directed at me, but I was a little illogical at that time.

Again, I left a short message saying I was back, but tacked on an apology at the end, too. For a while, I sat on the end of our bed and stared at the cell phone, willing it to ring. But, it never did. It just sat there silently. Mocking me.

Finally, I pulled the handcuffs out of my pocket and laid them on the desk near my cell phone, getting up. I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Even though I had only been at the beach for a short time that day, I could feel the sand everywhere. In my hair, pants, and every other crease it could hide in.

The only soap in the shower were the little bars wrapped in wax paper. After only a few minutes under the hard spray of warm water, the bar would snap in half in your hands, but it left you feeling clean and made my hand squeak as it slid along my thigh.

I lathered myself fully, from head to toe, and rinsed off before stepping out of the shower and toweling off. I stopped to look at myself in fogged up mirror. The bathroom was extremely small, only about two feet from the rim of the sink to the wall behind me, so I could only see myself from about the bottom of my ribcage up. I had never wondered before if Remy found me attractive. Remy was obviously handsome. I, myself, did not think of myself as ugly, but I was most definitely not the same kind of handsome as Remy. I was extremely thin and the bones of my ribcage poked out from under the pale skin of my chest. There did not seem to be any muscle mass at all on my body with the exception of some thin padding here and there, stretched between my bones and skin.

Remy had more than a smattering of musculature. His legs were firm, as was his chest and his arms. There were only a few places where bones peeked out to push against his smooth tanned skin. I could not imagine what he saw when he looked at me.

A sigh escaped my lips. It was not worth worrying about. To ask the same question of Remy would only mean a divulge of flattering, but false, praise. Though, perhaps, if I asked him once he returned to the room I would get a different kind of answer, the kind I would not enjoy hearing.

I wandered out into the bedroom with a small, thin towel wrapped precariously around my hips. I had the second drawer down in the chest of drawers closest to the bathroom and I was crouched there with the towel slowly detaching itself from around my waist as I rummaged about in the drawer for a pair of shorts and a top when I heard a click as someone unlocked the door behind me. I did not stand, nor close the drawer. I did not even let go of the tank top I had clutched in one hand. Only my head and eyes moved, as they swiveled over my shoulder to look at the door as it slowly eased open and revealed a tired looking figure in the threshold. He seemed to freeze for a moment as he saw me crouched there. We both started moving at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" he shouted angrily, stepping forward so that some of the light from the bathroom illuminated his face, assuring me that he was Remy, even though I needed no such assurance.

"Getting dressed," I answered shortly, standing up with the tank top still in my hand. I had meant for an edge to be in my voice, but I suppose I was unable to muster one. There was no challenge in my answer.

"What do you mea- ? Dammit! Artemis! I've been looking all over for you!" he snapped, chucking his keys on the bed and kicking the door shut behind him. "Where have you been? What were you doing? Why did you leave without leaving a message or taking your phone? I thought you'd been kidnapped again!" he shouted, gesticulating wildly.

I flinched slightly as he mentioned the incident from last year. He knew that I hated to talk about it. It only brought up hurtful memories and, though it might have strengthened our relationship, it was still a very dark and nightmarish part of my life. It only showed how angry he was that he brought it up, hopefully, without thinking.

"I went to the pier. All of you were out having fun and my foot was feeling better. I am sorry that I forgot to bring my cell phone. It was a mistake," I offered up lamely. It made enough sense, but it was still unconvincing. If it were true that all of it were a big misunderstanding, then I would have been extremely indignant at getting reprimanded for it. But, I was acting extremely passive. After all, I did feel that it was mostly my fault. I decided to be unhappy before we even got on the train, found fault with everything that Remy did, and still expected them all to revolve their plans around me. It was extremely selfish of me and I found myself ashamed of my actions for the first time in a long time.

While all of this was going through my head, Remy kept talking in a fast and loud fashion.

"Everywhere! I looked everywhere for you! Ira and Jack don't even know you were missing. So, this is your half-assed way of punishing me for thinking up this vacation? God forbid that I set up something nice for all of us to do. Fuck, Artemis! Aren't you going to say anything?" he spat.

As I listened to his screaming, I could not help but realize that I had been completely in the wrong. I had been extremely juvenile and I started to question what in the world I was doing in a relationship if I could not even act like an adult while on vacation with Remy. I plopped, defeated, onto the bed and felt the worn springs screech in protest as they bent to accommodate my weight. I scratched the back of my head in an uncharacteristic way.

"What are we doing?" I whispered, mostly to myself. "A boyfriend? I must be insane." The words escaped like a third party was jumping in on the berating, and it almost was just that. I was vaguely disgusted with myself, as well. But, for a different reason. It was slowly striking me that the idea of myself having a lover's tiff with a football player was ridiculous. I was the son of an infamous Mafia boss and a master of crime myself. I was a failure at human relationships, fit only to analyze them, not to participate in them. I could not even imagine what possessed me to accept Remy's proposal of a romantic relationship. It was almost like the big finish to the joke that we were both male, as well. All of it hopeless. And, after all the trials and tribulations, I would only realize this so late?

"What? What did you say?" Remy whispered back harshly. It sounded like he did not hear what I had said and thought that I had been insulting him under my breath.

A spark caught in my mind and a strange unfocused anger and irritation found root in my mind.

"I'm saying, this is not going to work," I returned in a louder, but equally harsh, voice. "It was ridiculous to think it ever would," my words were loosing their strength as I realized what I was proposing. "The two of us do not make any sense together," I muttered. "Besides, you deserve someone better than I. I was never meant to be with anyone," I added, meaning to soften the blow, but knowing somewhere within myself that the words were completely true.

I was facing away from him, so I did not see his face, but I did hear the strange gasping/choking sound that he made a moment after I finished speaking. It was deathly still and quiet for a long time. Time seemed to have skipped a beat. But, it began moving again soon, seeming to move all the faster for its moment of stagnation.

Remy leaped onto the other side of the bed and stopped just behind me on all fours.

"I don't understand you!" he shouted, a small strip of agonizing shock slipping into his syllables. "All because of some stupid little fight? Is that all it takes! I can't believe you'd just give up! Just like that! Bloody hell, Artemis."

Remy's voice cracked at the last and his forehead fell against my damp shoulder. His short hair tickled and his breath was hot against my skin. I shivered slightly, but brushed it off on the cold air conditioning against my bare skin.

"... I do not want too," I spoke slowly, feeling he needed more explanation. "I like you very much, even when you are being a pushy fool for love." I smiled. "But, I have been thinking a lot today and I am just worried. I do not want to be hurt. I do not want you to be hurt and end up hating me, either. I do not really see any way of avoiding that, at this point."

Remy was quiet for another long moment and I felt his breathing speed up against my back.

"I can't believe you're thinking like this. If you're agonizing things, you should talk to me about it. Don't make decisions on your own. Please. Please, just talk to me about it!" he yelped a little.

I did not answer. I did not know what to say. 'I am afraid we will not be able to sustain a long distance relationship in college. I do not think I am physically attractive enough to keep you once other boys start to throw themselves at you. We are very different and what happens when the fights are more intense if I can not handle this? Other people do not understand us. Will I have to explain why we love each other until the end of time? When will this unease go away?'

Remy seemed to get impatient in waiting for my answer. He made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and slipped his hands up along my sides until they were braced underneath my arms. He then anchored my body against his chest and threw me down against the bed so that I was lying on my stomach, my face resting in the pillow and he was lying on my back, his forehead against the back of my neck.

"Don't. Don't go," he muttered against the shell of my ear.

I pushed myself up on my elbows and Remy accommodated this movement by getting upon his elbows as well. I thought I saw a shimmer in his eyes, so I immediately lowered mine. I meant to say something firm. Something tragically decided and unmovable. But, I could not bring myself to say it. To think of leaving Remy was too sad, too terrifying. During that darkest chapter of my life, he had been there and it had been him that had brought me back to life. I could not imagine myself being where I was without him there to help me. No matter how uneasy I was, it was still too big, too extreme.

"No. Do not worry. I could not do such a thing. I was just scared for a moment," I muttered. I could not bring myself to watch his eyes for the sake of that threatening shimmer I had seen the moment before, so I compromised and watched his mouth. It worked hesitantly. Once or twice it seemed to open, ready to say something, only to think better of it and stop just a second before the sound could come. Then, he seemed to make a split second decision.

Before I could make any movement to the contrary, Remy smashed his lips against mine in a way that threatened to chip teeth and bruise gums. My arms slipped out from under me and his were automatically there, between the mattress and my back. My hands reached up around his shoulders to tangle in his tousled hair and feel the grain of the sand in the roots near his scalp. He sucked roughly on my lower lip until it throbbed and I jumped up to nip playfully at his lips, but missed and hit his nose.

It was all very intense. All of the anger, love, resentment, and fear came out in a big rush, not to mention all those lurking little feelings hiding in the gulches in between. Things were advancing wonderfully, in hindsight. Remy and I had never gone down the road of rough and fevered coitus before, but the more forceful Remy acted, the more insistent I became.

That is, until Ira and Jack decided to make their fateful entrance. Ira came in first and was the one to catch our attention, being that he made a little gasp before stumbling backwards over Jack, who peeked in over Ira and uttered a little 'oops' before hauling Ira and the door out and closed. I, in consequence collapsed back into the mattress, the mood ruined, while Remy slapped a tensed fist into the pillow and let out a string of cuss words.

"I'll be RIGHT back!" Remy yelped before jumping off the bed and shooting outside, grabbing his wallet as he left.

I sat up slowly and scratched my head a little, feeling how the hair stuck up in just about every conceivable direction. Looking down, I noticed that my thinly starched bath/hand towel that had been stretched around my hips had fallen away to leave me fully nude. At first, I reached to quickly cover up, but then I was struck by a miraculously wonderful idea.

Up until that particular point, Remy and myself had only had the proper and professional sex of unpracticed newlyweds. But, that rough and angry foreplay had made me curious as to what other kinds of sex were open to us.

Hurriedly, I retreated into the bathroom and turned on the water, mixing hot and cold so that it was still extremely warm, but not scorching. I decided that some cover was better than no cover at all and took the towel that had previously fallen off and tied it loosely around my hips again, this time making sure the knot was right above my thigh, were it would peek out when I walked and pushed the towel lower on my hips so that the bones of my hips stuck out. I poked at my ribs and decided not to think about my absence of muscles. It was the same as when I took a bath before. It was not worth thinking about. After all, it was not as if I were going to sprout the musculature of an athlete in the next few minutes, so there was little point in worrying over it.

Eventually, I heard the door click as Remy, presumably, re-entered the room. There was a pause as he took in the fact that I was missing and that the shower was running. I had myself perched at the edge of the sink with my legs open a little and the heel of my hands on the sink to balance myself.

When Remy opened the door, I realized that I did not really know what else I was supposed to do. I had seen enough James Bond movies to know that the woman in said movie usually would look up at Mr. Bond from the hot tub and smile seductively from beneath her long eyelashes. However, I hardly thought it would work out that well coming from me. So, instead, I ended up smiling awkwardly and saying something along the lines of, "Care for a bath?"

In that strange way Remy seemed to move so fast when he was very focused, I suddenly found myself in another fevered kiss. This one was a little different from the one on the bed. I was a little rough and definitely full of emotion and desperation, but it was also loving and kind and I was not quite so insistent this time, though I was enjoying myself. Remy was between my legs kissing me from below so that I had the upper hand. I had my hands on his jawbone and neck, tracing the lines there with a finger. Soon, Remy was lifting me up off of the counter and I wrapped my legs around his waist so that we could continue to kiss while he walked the step or two to the shower and put me down. The kiss still continued as he reached around me to tear open the curtain into the little tile shower stall. He broke the kiss for a minute to bend down and tuck an arm around my bottom before lifting me up. I buried my face in his hair and he showered my collarbone with kisses as we both entered the warm spray of the water.

Remy trapped me against the cool tile wall and kissed me passionately while ripping off the little towel around my waist. He broke the kiss for a short second while he tore off his shirt and tossed it into a far corner. Copper tasting water escaped into my mouth as Remy engaged me in another kiss, this one open mouthed, while his hands roamed my body wildly. His hips ground into mine and I growled into our kiss as I felt his need and he felt mine.

By then, we were already sliding to the floor, still constantly touching, rubbing, and kissing one another in a frantic mess of limbs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Remy loosening his pants until they hung limp and unenthusiastic on his hips. In the next instant, his hands had wandered below my waist and I had to break our frantic kissing to moan loudly and toss my head back. Not a smart idea, being that the back of my head hit the tile wall behind me with a loud crack, but I do no believe that Remy heard it, since he continued in his ministrations.

His hands were firm and demanding and his hips inched towards mine with the predatory advance of a tiger stalking its prey.

"Ah, Remy," I know I muttered to him at some point. Remy had his lips locked to the juncture of my neck and shoulder, kissing and sucking with purpose while his fingers dipped inside with the help of the water all around us. By this point, I had gotten rather used to this and it only took a few minutes of fondling before I was pushing myself onto his fingers and mewling in Remy's ear, asking for more. A little worrisome, yes, about my manhood, but when you're that close to orgasm, pride tends to go out the window.

Remy was not one to make me wait, and he immediately complied with my pleadings. He pushed up inside of me, using my own bodyweight as leverage to get deeper inside. His heat inside of me was intense and for a moment it felt as if I was feeling every drop of water hitting my skin while in the ecstasy of the moment.. Finally, I settled and was able to look down into Remy's eyes.

They were an intensely clear blue. They shone and they were affixed specifically on me. He looked like I was the only thing in the world he could see at the moment and that thought filled me with a different kind of heat.

I smiled down at him.

"Good vacation," I muttered.


End file.
